Inside the South American talent factory Newcastle raiding in new transfer plan

The 16-year-old winger's move to Tyneside was announced on Tuesday and he will join the Magpies in the summer of 2027 after he has turned 18.

Martinez was part of and Independiente del Valle side that were crowned Ecuadorian under-17 championships and he has already made waves at international level at the same age group.

United are thought to have beat off competition from some big clubs to Martinez's signature and it was the first sign of one of sporting director Ross Wilson's big objectives of cracking the South American market coming to fruition.

"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.

"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."

Martinez's arrival is not expected to be the last from the continent and in the latest weekly Sunday column from Newcastle United reporter Sean McCormick, Chronicle Live has taken a look a deeper look into Newcastle's foray into the South American market.

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Ecuador has become one of the most lucrative talent markets in world football, with the huge profit Brighton and Hove Albion made on Moises Caicedo turning heads in recruitment circles.

Brighton's excellent contacts and scouting in Ecuador helped them seal the signing of Caicedo in February 2021 for just £4million. Fast forward two-and-a-half years and Brighton sold him to Chelsea for £115m, meaning the Seagulls had banked a profit of £111m.

Naturally, the race was on for every other club to discover the 'next Caicedo'. A diamond in the rough. But Caicedo's rise was no accident and it gave prominence to one of the best kept secrets in world football. The Independiente del Valle academy.

The Ecuadorian side have churned out some fine talents in recent years alongside Caicedo. Piero Hincapie is a Bundesliga and DFB Pokal winner with Bayer Leverkusen and is on course to helping Arsenal to Premier League and Champions League glory this season.

Willian Pacho is a Champions League winner with PSG, having won the league in Belgium with Royal Antwerp and excelling in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt. Chelsea hope to have struck gold with Kendry Paez in the same way Borussia Dortmund hope to have done with Justin Lerma. It felt about right that Newcastle got in on the action and the hope is that in Martinez, they have found the next diamond in the northern Ecuadorian rough.

So what is the secret behind their success?

"The level of coaching is above anything else in Ecuador and even South America now," former Independiente second team coach Javier Rabanal told Sky Sports.

"It is the best academy in the Americas and the quality of youth coaching when I arrived was amazing. They are so prepared. It is not normal that some of the top players in the world came from this academy.

"If you come from Europe thinking that you know all there is to know about football and everything you can do here is fantastic or amazing, you are completely wrong. It is not easy to add something that makes this club better anymore. The level here is so high."

South America on the whole is set to be a big part of Newcastle's summer transfer plan and that was clear in the arrival of Thomas Federspiel from Nottingham Forest in December. Federspiel's brief is to extract the best talent from Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador and Martinez's arrival was the first major coup in his role as first team and global talent scout across those countries.

Forest's capture of defender Murilo in 2023, aged just 21 at the time, was his biggest success story at the City Ground, given he developed into one of the Premier League's best defenders this season and has become a full Brazil international.

Working together with Wilson in the East Midlands, the Reds signed four players from Botafogo in the summer, too, and it is safe to assume Brazil will be a happy hunting ground for Newcastle this summer, too.

Federspiel's influence is already being felt with the players Newcastle have been linked with and are monitoring ahead of the summer.

Palmeiras wonderkid Allan is among the players the Magpies have ran the rule over in the region, with the 21-year-old midfielder also attracting admiring glances from Liverpool and Napoli.

It is also believed Newcastle United scouts have watched Gremio's left-sided centre-back Viery. The 21-year-old Brazilian can also play left-back and centre-midfield and they are not going to be the last Brazilian players linked with a move to Tyneside this summer.