da bet nacional： Marko Arnautovic has firmly established himself as West Ham’s first-choice centre-forward in the past twelve months, but there was a time when supporters wanted an entirely different prospect to lead the line.
da wazamba： West Ham moved into the transfer market to sign Javier Hernandez in 2017, while Arnautovic was also signed in the same window after enjoying an eye-catching spell with Stoke City as a left-winger.
But Slaven Bilic failed to find a recipe for success following with the injection of new talent, leading to calls from plenty of supporters who demanded the inclusion of youth.
The Hammers’ failure to regularly find the back of the net happened to coincide with Toni Martinez’s prolific goal scoring return for the U23 squad, and the supporters began to call for Bilic to hand him an opportunity at senior level.
Martinez, though, remained restricted to youth team appearances, much to the frustration of the expectant supporters, who were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the collection of senior individuals which Bilic had to chose from.
Here’s what some of the West Ham fans had to say about Martinez during the early stages of the 2017/18 season:
Fast forward little over twelve months later and circumstances at the London Stadium have dramatically shifted: Arnautovic is spearheading the attack with a conviction and consistency which has made him untouchable, and Martinez has since moved to La Liga 2 side, CF Rayo Majadahonda, on a season-long loan.
The 21-year-old made an instant impact on his debut for the club by netting in a defeat against Real Zaragoza, but he has failed to score in the eight appearances which have followed his debut.
It must be considered that only two of his appearances were made from the outset, and he is still learning his trade in an unfamiliar environment.
West Ham fans may take some encouragement from Harry Kane’s development at Tottenham; he endured underwhelming loan spells in the Championship which hinted at nothing more than a bang-average career before he rose to international prominence.
Kane’s example is certainly not a realistic benchmark for young players to aspire to emulate, but it does provide tangible evidence to suggest that it’s too early to write Martinez off based merely on a handful of performances in Spain.
Arnautovic’s brilliance will ensure that calls for Martinez’s inclusion will remain on hold, for now at least, but it won’t be any great surprise if those calls return this season if he manages to find his feet in La Liga 2.
West Ham fans – thoughts on Martinez’s future? Let us know below!