Remember Toni Martinez? The Spaniard impressed hugely for West Ham at Under-23 level, scoring 25 goals in 29 games for the Hammers.
Unfortunately, his efforts never earned him a proper run in the first-team, and he made just three senior appearances for West Ham.
In 2019, Martinez departed West Ham on a permanent basis following a number of loan moves, joining Famalicão on a three-year deal.
Since moving to Portugal, his career has taken off, and last night, he enjoyed what was arguably his best moment since leaving West Ham.
What’s the story?
Well, Martinez earned a move to Porto in 2020 after one season with Famalicão, and he started for the Portuguese giants in the Europa League Round of 32 last night.
Porto took on Lazio, and Martinez scored twice to secure an important 2-1 win for his side to take into the second leg.
They were his fifth and sixth goals of the season in all competitions, taking his tally for Porto to 14 goals in 50 games.
Toni Martinez could help West Ham right now
We’re not going to suggest that West Ham were wrong to let Martinez go, as we’re aware that was a tiresome debate for a while among supporters.
However, there’s no denying that a player scoring twice against a side of Lazio’s stature could help the Hammers right now, especially as Sebastien Haller still hasn’t been replaced.
If West Ham have a buyback clause, for example, then it may be worth triggering it in the summer if they fail to sign other targets, and the sum is relatively low, of course.
Having said this, David Moyes has West Ham fighting for a place in the Champions League, while Martinez is thriving in Portugal, so you could say the split has worked out for both parties.
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