Toni Martinez is struggling since leaving West Ham United on loan.
West Ham United fans have a lot to feel angry about at the moment.
Whether it’s the 4-1 defeat at Swansea City on Saturday, their position in the Premier League table, or simply the fact that second-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart is being paid approximately £125,000 per week by them, few can argue that fans of the East London club don’t have good reason to be a bit upset.
Similarly, they were furious with manager David Moyes for allowing Toni Martinez to join Valladolid on loan last month, but were West Ham supporters wrong about the Spanish striker’s potential all along?
It’s been over a month since the highly-rated hitman joined the Spanish side but it hasn’t been a successful start by any stretch of the imagination.
Martinez, whose popularity among the Irons faithful stems from a very decent goalscoring record with the youth side, has managed only 75 minutes of first-team football for Valladolid since joining, scoring none and has been an unused substitute on two occasions.
Valladolid are 10th in the Spanish second division and it really doesn’t bode well for Martinez’s future as a Premier League star if he is struggling at such an inferior level.
It’s worth noting that it is very early and he could of course turn things around in a big way, but West Ham fans who saw him in the 2-0 defeat by Wigan in the FA Cup, or both games against Shrewsbury Town in the previous round, might agree that there is very little substance to the hype surrounding him.
Former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic – who signed him for £2.4 million (Daily Mail) in 2016 – caught a bit of flak for refusing to play him, but at the moment it looks like the Croatian manager was spot-on. Martinez, at the moment, is nowhere near good enough and he has it all to do to prove that he is capable of being a big player for the Hammers.
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