League One misfit emerges as Porto's surprise replacement for Liverpool ace Diaz

When Toni Martinez was shipped out on loan to Oxford United five years ago, he probably didn't envisage he'd one day be scoring in Europe.

Thursday night saw Martinez notch twice as Porto came from behind to beat Lazio in their Europa League last-32 first leg tie.

The 24-year-old will hope he can now start to become a regular scorer as the club look to compensate for the recent high-profile departure of Luis Diaz, who left for Liverpool in a £37million deal last month.

For Martinez, his European exploits are a long way from his spell at the Kassam Stadium back in 2017.

At the time, he was on the books at West Ham United who signed him from Valencia for a £2.4million fee in the summer of 2016.

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Aged 19, he was sent out to Oxford in a bid to get him used to the rigours of the English game. Then Oxford boss Michael Appleton said of Martinez's arrival: "It's an exciting signing.

"He has a terrific scoring record and is very highly thought of at West Ham so it is great that clubs think of Oxford United as a club where we help nurture talented young footballers and help their development.

"He will certainly add some serious competition for us at the top of the pitch."

And Martinez made an instant impact. He came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of their FA Cup fourth round clash with Newcastle United and scored the third goal in a convincing 3-0 scalp.

Two more goals would follow, albeit consolation strikes in 3-2 defeats.

But after his spell with Oxford, he would follow a similar path to many Premier League players who are unable to break into the first team.

Despite a hugely impressive goal tally in the under-23s - across two campaigns he scored 23 times in 29 games - he couldn't break into the senior set-up.

He was loaned out three further times, to sides in his native Spain.

Then came his inevitable release by West Ham, in July 2019. His only appearances for the Hammers came in the EFL Trophy and League Cup.

He then signed for Portuguese side Famalicao ahead of their first top flight campaign in 25 years and caught the eye by hitting double figures.

That earned him his lucrative move to Porto - a transfer that he says he did not expect to happen so soon after his West Ham struggles.

Speaking about the move, Martinez said: "It is true that I came to Portugal with the objective that one day they would notice me, but I did not expect that moment to come so soon.

"Not in my best dreams would I have imagined that I would end up playing for a club like Porto when I was 23 years old, but in this sport life can change you in a year.

"It is the reward for a lot of work."

With a rather large Diaz-shaped hole to fill, Porto and Martinez will be hoping his two-goal salvo against Lazio proves to be the perfect springboard.