Should Leeds United ask about the West Ham United talent on loan?
West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic confirmed to a press conference that Toni Martinez will not be in his squad for tonight’s visit of Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Spanish hitman has been putting the pressure on Bilic with a series of superb displays for West Ham’s Under-23 side and it seemed like the Irons manager may finally give him a Premier League shot, with Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandz unavailable tonight due to suspension and injury respectively.
Fans certainly want to see what Martinez can do as the 20-year-old boasts 23 goals in 26 games for the Hammers’ reserves but they won’t get their wish this evening.
There might not be a better shot for Bilic to throw him in this season, and you wonder if it’s best for club and player if Martinez has a loan spell in January – and Leeds United should certainly enquire about the prospect of bringing him in.
Young, Spanish and talented, Martinez fits the bill for what Leeds’ Director of Football Victor Orta looks for. The former Middlesbrough man signed six Spanish talents during the summer and four of them are under 21 years of age.
Five of those – with the exception of first-team star Samu Saiz – are in United’s development squad but Martinez is clearly a level above the Under-23 set-up.
He wouldn’t join up with his compatriots in the reserves and a loan stint in the Championship could be the challenge he needs to convince Bilic that he’s ready for the step up in class.
Better yet, Leeds don’t really have an established, tried-and-tested number nine: Pierre-Michel Lasogga is Thomas Christiansen’s go-to-guy but the German has three goals in seven games – and two of them were against a relegation candidate.
Signed from Valencia B in 2016, there is a very good chance that Orta – who plucked two Barcelona talents and one Real Madrid youth in the summer – was aware of Martinez and you wonder whether his exploits in England would make him willing to continue his Spanish revolution by signing him.
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