Ricky Martin has quit West Ham United in order to become the new technical director at Championship club Stoke City.
Some fans will remember Terry Westley being in charge of West Ham’s academy and Under-21 teams.
Martin came in to join the West Ham academy staff in 2019, looking to build on Westley’s fine work in East London.
Martin was promoted to academy manager just months later but after three-and-a-half years at West Ham, he has decided to move on.
Ricky Martin has quit West Ham United
It may come as a shock to many but Martin has not only decided to leave West Ham, but has chosen to step away from coaching as a whole.
Stoke City have confirmed the appointment of Martin as their new technical director ahead of the January transfer window.
It’s stated that Martin will take on a wide-reaching role, which will involve him overseeing player recruitment, scouting and analysis, medical, sports science and academy development.
Potters boss Alex Neil seems very excited with this move, believing that managing to land somebody of Martin’s calibre is a ‘real coup’ for Stoke.
This isn’t Martin’s first crack at being a technical director though.
Martin served a similar job with Norwich City between 2014 and 2017, where he worked closely with Neil.
The pair now reunite and will be hoping to take Stoke forward on and off the pitch after relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
This is a blow for West Ham, who place a keen focus on developing their academy players.
The hope is that talents like Jamal Baptiste, Harrison Ashby and Keenan Forson can continue to develop without Martin overseeing them.
It’s unclear who will replace Martin at West Ham but they will hope to find a successor very soon.
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