Lisbon, Aug 23 (EFE).- Spaniard Toni Martinez “feels like he needs wings to fly” and there is a “high possibility” that he will leave Porto, the Portuguese team’s coach, Vítor Bruno, said on Friday.
In a press conference prior to Saturday’s league match against Rio Ave, Bruno stressed that the Murcia striker “has been exemplary” and considers it “natural” that he is looking for a new club.
“After three years of being underused and being in a ‘golden cage’ situation – because Porto is a world-class club – he feels he needs wings to fly and make the most of his career,” he said.
Therefore, Bruno added, it is “perfectly legitimate” to seek “a contract that allows him to have a certain visibility”, both “from the economic point of view, but also for his ego, to feel his self-esteem higher.”
Martínez, 27, has been at Porto since the 2020/21 campaign and, although he has never established himself in the starting eleven, he has been an option on several occasions.
However, last season he experienced his worst period with the blue and whites, in which he only scored four goals, and in April he was one of the players removed by the previous coach, Sérgio Conceição, for internal reasons.
Both the Portuguese and international press point to a return to Spain to represent Alavés.
Toni Martínez trained at Valencia and then left for England, where he signed for West Ham.
He also played for Valladolid, Rayo Majadahonda and Lugo, on loan from the London club, and was later acquired by Portuguese side Famalicão, from where he made the jump to Porto. EFE
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