In stark contrast to the senior team, the West Ham U23 side has had a great season. In beating Newcastle, they have been promoted to the top division.
Many players have excelled in the team, and they have had to deal with a lot. If it wasn’t players going out on loan, a few of them have had injuries. Such is the West Ham way. As such, to get promoted is a great achievement.
But one player has consistently caught the attention of the fans. I have called for him to get his chance, but as yet Slaven Bilic has failed to do so. But it can’t be too long before Toni Martinez gets his chance at the club. Surely?
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Antonio Martinez
The young striker has been off at Oxford for most of the season, but has returned in recent weeks after the regular season finished. In the final match of the U23 season Martinez showed why he had been missed, scoring both goals in the 2-1 victory and taking many of the plaudits from fans and pundits alike.
Obviously, the fans were excited by the talent on show. When a youngster is banging in goals it is noteworthy, and given that many of the strikers around can’t do it someone who has a knack for doing it is pretty important to a club. Especially if your first team is struggling for goals.
And again, the fans were measured in their hype, being careful not to put too much expectation on the youngster…
Please Bilic, give Martinez a chance on Sunday.
— Uber West Ham (@UberWestHam) May 16, 2017
Martinez is the best striker we have in front of goal. The fact he went to Oxford on loan and we suffered Calleri for 20+ games is comical
— Josh V (@WestHamJoshV) May 16, 2017
Antonio Martinez is our best striker.
— West Ham (C)entral 🏆 (@WestHam_Central) May 16, 2017
So obviously he’ll be starting this weekend right? Well, no. Unfortunately not. BEcause of loan rules he is still a registered Oxford player until the next transfer window. He wasn’t released by Oxford before their final game, hence he us not available for senior competitions.
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Yes it’s a shame, but it will give him time. A pre-season hopefully with the first team will do him good. But he should definitely be in and around the first team squad next season for sure.