The news broke yesterday that West Ham are on the verge of yet another exciting transfer coup. This time the club are in the final stages of setting up a deal for the transfer of Valencia’s exciting young striker, Toni Martinez. Martinez is 18 years of age and can play as a centre forward, a second striker or on the left of a front three. His goal scoring record at U-21 level in Spain is outstanding, having scored over 100 goals in the last three seasons and he is widely tipped as a future star. The early details about the deal suggest that Martinez will cost £2.5m, although there is talk of Valencia wanting a buy-back agreement in the deal, as a precaution if the player fulfils his full potential in East London. Hopefully the club’s negotiators will find a way around that possible sticking point.
Valencia based newspaper, Super Deporte, are reporting that they interviewed Martinez after training yesterday and the player confirmed that he was just awaiting confirmation from his agent that the deal has been finalised. By way of background, it appears that Martinez wants the move because he has become discontented with the lack of first team opportunities at Valencia. While Martinez will undoubtedly start next season in the Hammers U-21 squad, with the possibility of a loan deal at some point, the fact remains that if he performs well then there will be real opportunities for him at West Ham.
If this deal is completed then it will be another excellent transfer coup by Tony Henry and the West Ham’s excellent scouting set-up. It is clear that they are working at two interrelated levels: at established first team level, recruiting players who can slot straight in to the first team squad; but also at a level below that, snapping up young stars with the potential to develop in to regular first teamers. In the latter category the club, in recent times, have signed the likes of Don Henry, Stephen Hendrie, Martin Samuelson, George Dobson, Luka Belic and Sam Ford; all of whom have supplemented the club’s home grown Academy prospects at U-21 level. It is a winning strategy and one that will produce dividends for the future of the club.
At U-21 level the club really do have some outstanding prospects. Both Reece Burke and Josh Cullen have done very well on loan at Bradford. Similiarly, Samuelson has really impressed on loan at Peterborough. It is a great pity that Reece Oxford’s proposed loan deal at Charlton did not come off, but there is every prospect that he could get more first team game time before the end of the season. Other youngsters thought to be on the verge of a first team debut are George Dobson, Marcus Browne and Djair Parfitt-Williams. So, all in all, things are looking very healthy, indeed, at Academy level. And that is exactly the way that it should be at a club like West Ham United, with its peerless reputation for youth development.
The club, as a whole, have made massive strides in the right direction this season. However, the target must be, long-term, sustained success. In order to secure that the club must not only sign top class, ready made, talent, but also ensure that talent is developed through the Academy; weather that is home grown starlets like Oxford or recruited young talent like Samuelson and Martinez. The club must ensure that the pathway from Academy to first team squad is kept open, unlike at other top PL clubs like Man City and Chelsea. That is crucial and will help sell the club to other top youth prospects in future.
If the club can get its transfer/recruitment formula absolutely right then it will be a crucial factor in delivering the ‘holy grail’ of sustained future success. COYI!SJ. Chandos.