Martinez hunts for diamond geezers

WIGAN manager Roberto Martinez insists nothing less than “diamonds” will suffice when he goes on the hunt for transfer window treasure next month.

With Martinez openly conceding he is desperate to strengthen his squad, the Spaniard, whose side entertain Bolton tonight, is naturally being linked with a host of players.

Given the club’s penchant in recent times for buying Central and South Americans, it is understandable most of the names currently being associated with Wigan are from that area.

Luis Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios have been and gone but Wigan currently have on their books two Hondurans in Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa, as well as Colombian Hugo Rodallega.

This week another Honduras star in striker Melvin Valadarres and a Chile international defender, Waldo Ponce, are rumoured to be on their way to the DW stadium.

“Any player from Honduras or Columbia, because of the links we have with the players here, has been mentioned,” said Martinez.

“Any name you can come up with, we’ve been linked with, and we’ve been checking these players.

“I can guarantee you won’t go far wrong by linking us with players because we need to follow as many as we can.

“But, until we get the right characters, then we won’t be making any decisions because we’re the kind of club who needs diamonds.

“It’s no secret we need players, even though we’ve been fortunate with injuries.

“But the squad is light and the moment we get one or two injuries, the squad is really stretched.

“With the huge amount of games in front of us, we need players in.”

Meanwhile, Bolton defender Gretar Steinsson believes on-loan striker Ivan Klasnic’s recent run of goals show he has finally settled at the Reebok stadium.

The Croatian was brought in from Nantes in the summer but has taken a while to find his feet.

However, the 29-year-old – who in March 2007 had a kidney transplant after suffering renal failure – appears to be finding form at a crucial time and has scored five in his last six league matches.

“He is a world-class player. You see him in training every day and his finishing is fantastic,” said Steinsson.

“Now he is scoring goals for us. That is fantastic too.

“He is just a great lad and deserves to be doing well now at this moment after a terrible period he had a couple of years ago.

“It is great to see a professional coming back from difficulties and doing well in the hardest competition in the world.

“It is hard to come in and adjust to English football when there is a lot of pressure on you because you are a big name and you need to perform.”