Why Toni Martinez should join Norwich on loan
West Ham themselves have struggled for goals this season but in Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho, they should have enough firepower in attack to get by.
When Toni Martinez joined the club’s academy from Valencia, he came with rave reviews after a prolific couple of years in Spain, but the talented young striker is yet to make his senior debut for the Hammers.
Last season, Martinez joined Oxford United on loan and netted three goals in 17 appearances before returning to West Ham where he would hopefully make the first-team leap.
While Martinez continues to score with aplomb for the U23s, a first-team call-up doesn’t appear close and a January loan move to the Championship would make a lot of sense, and there wouldn’t be many better suitors that Norwich.
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In 12 league games, the Canaries have only netted 12 goals and are heavily reliant on Nelson Oliveira to find the net otherwise they really are struggling.
Their inconsistent finishing hasn’t impacted results, winning five and drawing four of their 12 games which is good enough to see them sitting in eighth place just outside the play-off places, an added boost in attack could bridge that gap between play-off hopefuls and automatic promotion chasers.
Norwich are just five points back of second place Cardiff and seven behind league leaders Wolves, a difference that can be easily clawed back in the space of three or four games.
Martinez has been on fire for the U23s, scoring 23 goals in 26 games including a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Manchester United U23s last time out but he needs to play competitive league football to further his development.
The 20-year-old would relish the opportunity to play at a higher level if he can’t get games for West Ham and Norwich would be an excellent opportunity to showcase his ability.