"Doesn't sit right" - Leeds United stance given as sour point of Crysencio Summerville exit identified | OneFootball

Summerville's exit to West Ham United is imminent

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The long-winded transfer saga involving Crysencio Summerville is set to conclude imminently, with Leeds United agreeing a significant fee with West Ham United for his services.

Summerville was the main standout performer in a United shirt last year, and despite question marks over the tag from certain followers of the second tier, the Dutchman pipped the likes of 'Golden Boot' winner Sammie Szmodics to win the Championship Player of the Season award at the EFL's official ceremony back in April.

Despite his long collection of standout moments from last season, the winger couldn't aid a successful promotion bid at Elland Road, as Daniel Farke's side fell six points short of Ipswich Town in the automatic promotion race, before being struck by the club's infamous 'play-off curse' once more, losing to Southampton on May 26th at Wembley Stadium.

Ever since John Brooks called time on the Play-Off Final in North London, Farke and Whites supporters have seen interest in a number of prized assets intensify further, with Archie Gray eventually leaving for Spurs, whilst numerous Premier League and European sides continued to circle around Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Wilfried Gnonto.

However, Leeds are finally set to bid farewell to one of the trio, with an agreement eventually being struck between themselves and Julen Lopetegui's new chargers.

After a breakthrough had eventually been reached between United and their top flight counterparts, Fabrizio Romano revealed that the fee agreed between the two parties is in excess of £25m with add-ons.

Across the summer, fees of between £35-40m had been mooted as the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Brighton looked to acquire the winger's services themselves, and with that in mind, FLW's Leeds United fan pundit, Kris Smith, has issued a slightly frustrated verdict over the end figure which United will be receiving.

"We all knew as Leeds fans that Summerville would be leaving Elland Road from the moment the final whistle went at Wembley in the play-off final," he stated.

"However, it just doesn't sit right how much we're getting for him," Smith stated. "The club have essentially drip-fed this narrative that Archie Gray's £40m sale to Tottenham means we only have to let players go when it's on our terms. But, that just doesn't really add up with Summerville leaving.

"£25m+ add-ons is a lot of money for a Championship player. But it's a sum that, you could argue, doesn't really value him perfectly because he's clearly a better player than £25m," our fan pundit continued.

"Having said that, given that the add-ons in the deal are quite likely attainable for a player of his ability, it should give us the money to rebuild, which I think's absolutely vital for this season.

"Because, as much as he was absolutely brilliant for us, our reliance on him meant that we were really imbalanced last season in how we played.

"So, if we address that with signings to make our team look more balanced, we'll come out of it better," Smith concluded.

Although this sale will no doubt aid an overall recruitment drive across the squad as Farke's rebuild continues, Leeds have to find an imminent replacement for Summerville as soon as possible, regardless of the attacking quality which could still remain in the side, such as Rutter, Piroe, James et al.

Although Gnonto has played the occasional game as a left-winger, the Italian has also been linked with a move to Everton, despite talks between the two clubs reportedly stalling, with Sean Dyche since admitting that the Toffees are looking to maximise their own budget.

The main back-up to Summerville, who registered 29 goal contributions in the regular season (20G+9A) as well as netting against Norwich City in the Play-Off Semi-Finals, has also departed in the form of Jaidon Anthony, leaving Leeds extremely thin on the ground in this department with the season opener against Portsmouth just over a week away.

Furthermore, the upfront cost of this deal, as well as the fees garnered for Gray and Glen Kamara's recent exits will combine to give Farke a mass transfer budget to potentially work with, with the Athletic revealing that the German is hoping to boost his midfield options, as well as another right-back despite Jayden Bogle's recent arrival from Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, whilst FC Köln's Dejan Ljubicic and Norwich's Gabriel Sara remain prominent midfield targets.

In the short-term, it's clear that many Leeds fans will feel the club didn't push for what Summerville was potentially worth, given his high importance to the side.

But in truth, a starting point of £25m upfront is still a huge pot of cash for any second tier side to be working with, and it could be a beneficial decision for all parties in the long run.