Speak the name Toni Martinez around West Ham, and few are likely to lift their heads or remember the name.
The striker joined the Hammers from Valencia’s U19 set up in a £2.7m deal back in 2016 as the club looked to build for the future.
He spent the next few years out on loan at various clubs, first moving to Oxford United, then Real Valladolid, CF Rayo Majadahonda and Lugo.
He eventually departed West Ham on a free transfer to Famalicão in July 2019, having managed just three first-team appearances for the Hammers in his three years there.
Since then, things have been going rather well in Portugal, with 14 goals in 40 appearances for Famalicão, leading to a £2.88m move to Porto last year.
He’s since managed 11 goals in 33 games for the Portuguese giants, including three in five in Liga Bwin games this season.
And that could lead to a call up to the Spanish squad for the next international break, according to Marca.
They look at the ‘armada’ of players knocking on Luis Enrique’s door and name several Spaniards who were not at Euro 2020 who now have a ‘good chance’ to make an impression.
Martinez is one of them, having been performing at a ‘good level’ in Portugal for three years at this point, and they say the former West Ham man could add a player with the profile of a number nine to the squad, something Spain are sorely lacking.
Of course, he’ll have to keep scoring to make that a certainty, but it seems the chance of a call-up is there, and West Ham may end up looking at one that got away.
