"Not surprised" - Leeds United view given on Crysencio Summerville "issues" at West Ham | OneFootball

Football League World's Leeds United fan pundit has discussed Crysencio Summerville's time at West Ham so far

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…

Crysencio Summerville lit up the Championship with Leeds United during the 2023/24 campaign and appeared poised to kick on further after completing a big-money move to West Ham last summer.

The Dutch winger was frequently unplayable, with his moments of individual brilliance offering Leeds no shortage of attacking inspiration throughout the entirety of the season.

Summerville was Leeds' shining light and the Championship's most outstanding operator by some distance, winning the division's Player of the Season Award after returning 20 goals and nine assists.

His efforts were not quite enough to guide the Whites back to the Premier League at the very first time of asking, with Daniel Farke's side squandering a top-two finish before being edged out by Southampton in the play-off final last May.

A second season in the Championship meant Leeds were always susceptible to losing their prized assets, and Summerville joined the likes of Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Glen Kamara in trading Elland Road for top-flight football by joining West Ham in a reported £25 million deal.

But while the likes of Gray and Rutter have gone on to impress with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion respectively, Summerville is yet to make a meaningful impact at the London Stadium. The 23-year-old has suffered injury setbacks, having been sidelined since January with a hamstring problem, but has generally struggled to catch the eye or lock down a regular starting berth.

Summerville has registered just one goal and one assist apiece from 19 appearances, though only seven of those have been starts. It could come as a surprise to see him struggling after enjoying such rich form in West Yorkshire last time out - but not everybody subscribes to that school of thought.

Leeds United verdict offered on Crysencio Summerville, West Ham situation

FLW asked our Whites fan pundit, Ger Lynch, whether he is surprised at how Summerville's move to the Hammers is playing out.

Although many Leeds fans would likely be, Ger believes that Summerville's individualist nature in a division with increasingly-regimented tactical systems and coaching styles means it's no great surprise the Dutchman has failed to get going just yet.

"Funnily enough, I'm not overly surprised at what's gone on with Summerville this year," Ger told FLW.

"Cree is an individually brilliant player and has moments of brilliance, but was very much about himself at Leeds. There was an issue with him last season when Leeds had a penalty and Joel Piroe went up to take it.

"Just before he was about to take the penalty, Summerville snatched the ball out of his hands and took the penalty and celebrated, then there were apparently issues behind the scenes.

"So I'm not overly surprised at some of the issues he's had. As I say, he's an individually brilliant player but is more about himself than he is about the team.

"People can disagree with that but just looking at the kind of player he is, it's giving him the ball and letting him doing the work. Other clubs are more about sharing the load and working as a cohesive unit, I don't think Summerville has always been open to that and he's very much about what he can do in the moment.

"He's not done enough in the Premier League and probably hasn't done enough to get into the team, he's struggled with injuries. There's still time for him to develop but he hasn't had the impact Rutter has had for Brighton.

"They were the two standout players for Leeds last season and comparatively, Rutter has had a good season for Brighton whereas Summerville has had a disappointing season for West Ham."

Crysencio Summerville was always going to find it tough at West Ham

One of the real drawbacks is that Summerville has simply been unable to nail down a consistent starting spot, but that was always going to be a challenge.

Summerville is capable of playing on either flank, of course. However, the Hammers have England international Jarrod Bowen wide-right and the impressive Mohammed Kudus on the other side, meaning that Summerville was inevitably going to be playing second-fiddle to either of the pair to begin with.

He will be hoping for a more sustained chance next season but needs to capitalise on the opportunities given to him first, and he's yet to do that. However, Summerville is, at his best, a simply sensational talent and it would be unwise to write the ex-Leeds starlet off just yet.