While West Ham United continue to fight against relegation in the Premier League, Toni Martinez has emerged as the driving force behind Deportivo Alaves’ La Liga survival battle.
Alaves face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night, 24 hours after the Hammers were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace in South London.
If Quique Sanchez Flores’ side are to secure their first victory away to Los Blancos since 2019, expect Toni Martinez to have a major say in proceedings.
Do you feel BETTER or WORSE about West Ham’s survival chances after gameweek 33? 🤔
The Hammers stayed two points clear of Spurs…
Speaking to Diario AS before making the trip to the Spanish capital, Martinez reflected upon the unique journey which took him from West Ham United’s youth teams to the Mendizorrotza, via spells with Porto, Rayo Majadahonda and even Oxford United.
Toni Martinez reflects on his West Ham United journey
“I played six months for the Under-23s at 17, and scored 12 goals in 11 games,” Martinez says. “My coach at the time, Terry Westley and I decided, it was best for me to move on to professional football, as we felt the Under-23 league wasn’t competitive enough for me.
“It was a fantastic decision.”
Martinez only scored three goals in 17 games for The U’s during that loan spell in 2017/18. Still, he credits his brief time at the Kassam with helping turn a boy into a man.
Fittingly, at the home of Britain’s most famous university, Martinez ‘learned a tremendous amount’.
“I went to Oxford, learned a tremendous amount, and returned the following year much more developed to continue growing as a footballer,” says the one-time Valencia wonderkid.
After a couple more loan spells which promised much but delivered little in terms of goals, West Ham sold Martinez to Famalicao in 2019. A prolific debut season in Portugal caught the eye of former Champions League winners FC Porto, where he won an enviable haul of eight trophies.
Chief among them, the 2021 Primeira Liga title.
Martinez felt he was never going to get a chance at the Hammers
Another player enjoying a fine season in La Liga, Pablo Fornals felt he was forced out of West Ham once the Londoners started spending considerable sums on big-name signings. Martinez describes his departure in similar terms; a tally of 26 goals in 31 youth-team games translating into just 220 minutes of fleeting, first-team action.
“It’s true that when I arrived at West Ham, the club was heavily invested in young players,” Martinez remembers. “But they started pouring in huge amounts of money, and then it seemed almost impossible to get playing time.
“Every pre-season, I’d show up there with stars already signed to play up front.
“I competed with Chicharito [Javier Hernandez], Andy Carroll, [Marko] Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio, Lucas Perez… so many.
“That’s why, with three years left on my contract, I decided to terminate it and go to Portugal to try and change the direction of my career, because it was becoming too focused on loan spells, and they weren’t benefiting me.
“Now, looking back, I think it was the best decision of my life.”
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Adama in? Wilson for Pablo, perhaps?
Martinez ready for Alvaro Arbeloa reunion against Real Madrid
Hernandez, Carroll, Arnautovic, Antonio and Perez cost the Hammers around £65 million combined. Ahead of Saturday’s do-or-die clash with Everton, Nuno needs his £44 million January duo Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe firing.
Flash forward to 2026, meanwhile, and a now-28-year-old Spaniard is keeping hopes of a La Liga future alive at Alaves.
Martinez inspired Alaves’ stunning 4-3 comeback win at Celta Vigo a month ago tomorrow. His eight La Liga goals have helped account for 15 of the 33 points Alaves have on the board at this stage.
“Few people know this, but the [Real Madrid] manager and I were teammates at West Ham,” he said ahead of a reunion with Los Blancos boss and ex-Hammers right-back Alvaro Arbeloa.
“The truth is I’m really looking forward to seeing him. We were together for a year. He helped me and taught me a lot. I’m really eager to see him and give him a hug.”
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