West Ham are close to bolstering their attacking options, with Claret and Hugh reporting that the club are ready to snap up young forward Antonio Martinez from Valencia.
The 18-year-old Spaniard has been a sensation in the Mestalla outfit’s youth ranks, scoring at will over the last four seasons.
However, with prominent attackers such as Spain internationals Paco Alcacer and Alvaro Negredo in the Los Che ranks, the teenager has been starved of first-team opportunities.
Hammers chairman David Sullivan confirmed that a deal for Martinez to move to the Boleyn Ground was close.
”Yes, I can confirm he will sign in the next seven days,” he said.
“There is a large fee if the player is success and a small one of he’s not. He’s one for the future. Hopefully he can be on the fringes of the first team within a year.
The exact details of the deal remain to be seen, with it believed that the London club will pay Valencia an initial €1 million that could rise to €3 million based on performance factors.
It is also expected that a sell-on clause will need to be included in Martinez’s contract that would entitle the La Liga outfit to a percentage of the fee that West Ham eventually sold him for.
