Crysencio Summerville has cut a frustrated figure at times. The Dutchman made statement of intent by taking the number 10 shirt at the start of the campaign, but he has had to settle for a series of short stints here and there off the Leeds United bench this season.
As a result he has struggled to make the desired impact under Jesse Marsch, struggling to show his best and make the full-time step up from the Under-21s squad and into the first-team picture. However, on Saturday night in Merseyside, Summerville, on the eve of his 21st birthday, well and truly announced himself to the Leeds United fanbase by producing a moment they will likely never forget.
The game at Anfield looked to be heading for a stalemate as the minutes ticked down. Liverpool were peppering Illan Meslier but the Frenchman was standing firm and Leeds looked more than capable of holding out for a much-needed point.
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It wouldn’t have been enough to carry them out of the relegation zone, but it was certainly a performance to build on and take into their remaining two games before the World Cup break. When Wilfried Gnonto, who was making his Whites debut, found Patrick Bamford in the middle of the box, though, a chance opened up.
Summerville latched onto it with confidence and burst between centre-backs Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk before flicking the ball beyond Alisson and into the corner of the Anfield Road End net. Shirt off, he was mobbed by his Whites team-mates as they celebrated to the backdrop of a sea of limbs in the Leeds away end.
The winger displayed such poise to finish in the manner he did, bringing an end to Leeds’ eight-game winless streak and lifting the club out of the bottom three. Summerville’s first goal for the club came last weekend, a consolation effort in the closing moments of a 3-2 defeat to Fulham, but his second will be one cherished for years to come.
In the absence of Luis Sinisterra, he was given the nod to make just his second Premier League start for the club, having started at Leicester City last week, and he did provide work for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half, before swapping flanks and growing into the contest more against Andy Robertson in the second. He never lacked confidence on the ball and he looked to carry Leeds, who spent much of the second half under the pump, out of danger.
Before last week’s start at the King Power Stadium, Summerville had picked up just 82 minutes of match action this season, made up of six substitute appearances and in truth, he failed to show his best in those outings. However, he got his just rewards at Anfield for the patience he has had to show under Marsch, who has regularly spoken in glowing terms about the youngster.
Having seen the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood go on to have their breakout moments with the Whites last season, Summerville has finally produced his and Marsch believes it is something he can build on moving forward.
“I think he came off the bench last week and played really well and I think against Leicester he was good,” the head coach told the press after Leeds’ victory. “So we know we have a good player on our hands with him.
“Honestly, the biggest thing with him is discipline, professionalism, work ethic, maximising the potential of what it is in this world of professional football and not thinking about all the other stuff that gets in the way of really developing.
“I've worked with a lot of young attacking players. I've helped them become world stars, literally, world stars and I think Cry has potential to get better and be a big player for us.”
Whether Summerville has done enough to keep his spot in the Whites’ starting XI next week remains to be seen as Leeds take on Bournemouth at Elland Road. One thing looks certain, though, Summerville has arrived and this is just the start.
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