Toni Martinez says he is delighted to have finally made his full first team debut for West Ham.
The 20-year-old striker joined West Ham from Valencia in April 2016 in a £2.5million deal and finally made his first appearance for David Moyes' senior side at Shrewsbury on Sunday in the goalless draw.Embed from Getty Images
And having made his bow, Martinez told West Ham's website that he is hungry for more. "I’m really happy to finally make my debut," he said. "Now I’m going to keep working and I’m sure that more chances will arrive.
"I never played for the first team before, so it was great to hear the fans singing my name during the warm-up. I’ve been working hard for 18 months since I arrived here for that 20 minutes on the pitch.
"I just tried to do my best. I didn’t get any chances [to score] but I’m sure that, in the next game, we’ll get chances and win the three points."
Now Martinez is hoping to make another appearance for Moyes' first team in the reply, which takes place at the Olympic Stadium next Tuesday evening - although he maintains that is will be an equally difficult test for West Ham.
"I’m not surprised with the level Shrewsbury showed", he mused.
"League One is a high level and this team is at the top, and we know how hard it was playing them on their pitch in front of their fans. All we can do is keep working and looking forward to the next one."
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Martinez became the seventh Spanish player to represent West Ham in a competitive fixture at New Meadow on Sunday - the six compatriots to precede him were as follows:
Kepa Blanco: (2007) 8 appearances, 1 goal
Diego Tristan: (2008-09) 17 appearances, 3 goals
Manuel Almunia: (2011) 4 appearances, 0 goals
Alvaro Arbeloa: (2016) 4 appearances, 0 goals
Adrian: (2013-) 134 appearances, 0 goals
Pedro Obiang: (2015-) 82 appearances, 3 goals
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