Ross Wilson has overseen his first transfer as Newcastle United sporting director.
Newcastle United have completed a deal that will see Ecuadorian winger Johan Martinez join from Independiente del Valle next summer.
The 16-year-old will officially join the Magpies after his 18th birthday in the summer of 2027 and will remain with Independiente del Valle until then.
A similar situation recently unfolded with Georgian youngster Vakhtang Salia, who agreed to join from Dinamo Tbilisi in October 2024 but had to wait until he turned 18 last August to complete the move.
Ross Wilson ‘delighted’ as Newcastle United complete Johan Martinez swoop
The move for Martinez comes after Newcastle appointed Thomas Federspiel as the club’s new global talent scout in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador in December.
The deal marks the first official transfer agreement of Wilson’s tenure following his appointment as sporting director in October last year.
“We’re delighted to beat off serious competition from leading clubs across Europe to bring Johan to Newcastle United,” Wilson said.
“Identifying and recruiting promising young players is a key part of how we build for the future, and our scouting and recruitment teams have worked diligently to secure Johan’s signature.
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“Independiente del Valle have a strong reputation for developing young players and Johan has undoubtedly benefited from that environment. He will continue his progress there while we maintain a close connection with his development, and we look forward to welcoming him to Newcastle next year.”
Johan Martinez hails from top Ecuador academy
Martinez hails from one hasof Ecuador’s top academies in Independiente del Valle, famous for producing several players who have gone on to have success in Europe, most notably midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo joined Brighton & Hove Albion from Independiente for just £4million in 2021 before being sold to Chelsea two-and-a-half years later for over £100million.
Martines was part of the Independiente del Valle youth team who won the Ecuadorian Under-17 title in December 2025.
Internationally, he is currrently representing Ecuador in the South American Under-17 Championships and was on target in Sunday evening’s victory over Chile as they reached the semi-finals.
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