West Ham’s recent transfer activity suggests that the club are looking to lay down the foundations for the future after securing new signings this week.
Valencia forward Toni Martinez will join the club in July after securing a move to the Hammers on Friday. The striker is very highly rated and has scored over 100 goals in the last four seasons at youth level. When the 18-year-old was asked about his ambitions, the Spaniard made it clear that he wanted to break into the first team as quickly as possible:
“The prospect of playing in front of 60,000 people next year really catches my attention, and it is a Stadium that has so much history,
“I am hoping to be able to get the opportunity to do that and I hope that it will be soon.”
Another player that is set to join Martinez next season is highly rated Portuguese midfielder Domingos Quina. The midfielder is set to leave Chelsea after becoming frustrated at a lack of opportunities at the club. The 17-year-old was attracting the interest of Arsenal but it looks as if a move to West Ham is more appealing due to the playing opportunities that could arise in the near future.
A young prospect that could feature for the Hammers very soon is Martin Samuelsen. The tricky midfielder has returned to West Ham from Peterborough. It looks as if the Hammers have cut the midfielder’s loan short as he was expected to stay with the Posh until the end of the season.
The club may have recalled the player to give him a chance in the first team this season. Slaven Bilic is certainly an attack-minded manager so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Norwegian prodigy feature as a wildcard option from now until the end of the campaign.
It’s encouraging to see West Ham boosting their youth ranks as there is always the potential for a player to break into the first team and make an impact. The likes of Marcus Rashford at Manchester United and Dele Alli at Tottenham are the sort of players that have thrived when given the opportunity. If the Hammers can emulate a similar method of success from their youth set up, the future could be very bright for the Irons.
