Newcastle close to signing Johan Martinez - Report

Newcastle United's search for exciting young talent has taken them to South America of late, and it looks as though the Magpies may have found a potential gem. 

Ever since the PIF took over at Newcastle, there has been a desire to find the most promising young stars and bring them to the club to develop. That was Dan Ashworth's remit when he initially joined, and he made good progress on that front.

We assume Paul Mitchell was told the same, but what did he ever do, really? Ross Wilson appears to be on the same track, however, after bringing in Thomas Federspiel last year as our new global scout across Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

Martinez set to become a Mag?

Newcastle's new South American scouting network has been identifying plenty of targets of late, and according to journalist Rudy Galetti, the Magpies are close to agreeing on the signing of 16-year-old Johan Martinez from Independiente del Valle of Ecuador.

Independiente del Valle has an excellent academy,. Big stars such as Moises Caicedo, Piero Hincapie, Joel Ordonez and Willian Pacho all came through the academy there, so they certainly know how to develop top talent.

Galetti says that Martinez looks to be a fine example of a modern forward, possessing incredible pace and capable of playing on both wings, but equally comfortable playing as a central striker.

Sebastián Beccacece hinted that Newcastle were shopping in Ecuador

These claims from Galetti come hot on the heels of Ecuador's international coach, Sebastián Beccacece, telling AS that Newcastle were eyeing a 'player born in 2009', which is when Martinez was born.

We weren't sure what to make of Beccacece's comments at the time, given that he didn't mention names, but with Galetti coming out with this story, it all seems to add up to something that potentially has truth to it.

Newcastle are thought to be close to completing the signing of Johan Martinez after seeing off competition from the Bundesliga and other Premier League clubs, so it could be one to keep an eye on.

Our concern, as always when signing young talent with bags of promise, is how we treat them once they arrive. If we send them out to a club on loan where they can actually develop, or we botch it and send them to the eighth tier of the Azerbaijani league to sit on the bench. You can never tell with Shola Ameobi calling the shots.