Crysencio Summerville has shared the words Jesse Marsch said to him following his match-winning goal on Saturday at Anfield. The winger was Leeds United’s hero against Liverpool as he popped up in the 89th minute to seal a famous victory in Merseyside and bring an end to the club’s eight-game winless run.
The game was just his second Premier League start for the Whites, but Summerville certainly made the most of the opportunity by bagging his second goal for the club, the day before his 21st birthday. It was a moment he is unlikely to forget in a hurry and, with Luis Sinisterra missing through injury, it seems he could be set to keep his spot in the starting XI this weekend when Bournemouth travel to Elland Road.
Marsch has spoken publicly about Summerville on a couple of occasions since the full-time whistle on Saturday night and while he has been quick to praise the youngster, he has also discussed the importance of remaining disciplined and grounded. It seems the head coach wasted no time in personally delivering that message to the Dutchman after the game at Anfield, too.
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Speaking on the Leeds United Official Podcast, Summerville said: “He just said to me, ‘yeah, good goal, good game against a hard opponent, but I’ll tell you this, Cry, this is just the beginning. You’re young, be humble, be hungry and this your time.’
“‘I told you I’ve got belief in you but you have to show me every day in training and the games when you get the minutes’ Basically as a young kid you’re going to fly like, ‘I scored against Liverpool’, but he said to me ‘be humble, be hungry to do even more things’.
“That just put me on the ground, like, ‘OK, we go again next week’. I think that’s good for me because I have to stay focused.”
He added: “When the ball entered the goal and I saw the net move, I was like ‘woah, what just happened to me?’. The fans, they went crazy. I wanted to jump in the crowd to cheer with them.
“I’ve heard it a lot from former coaches that I play a lot on reflexes, I’m not thinking about what I’m doing in the next action, it’s just like when I get the ball things happen. I just thought, ‘you’re in the box, you’re around three players, just do something, create something’.”
Summerville was certainly popular on social media after the game, with the likes of Raphinha, Liam Cooper, Charlie Cresswell and Netherlands international Noa Lang commenting on an Instagram post to congratulate the youngster on his goal. However, it was a message from former Leeds striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink that caught his eye.
“To be honest I didn’t read all the messages but I saw one, I think he is a legend of Leeds, Floyd Hasselbaink,” he said.
“I saw it and I was surprised because I heard some things about him.”
Summerville penned a new long-term contract with the Whites in the build-up to the season, but eyebrows were raised when he was handed the number 10 shirt, previously worn by Barcelona-bound Raphinha. The youngster has revealed he pushed to wear such a high profile number, but he didn’t take it on without consulting a few teammates first.
“It was a Summerville choice,” he said. “I came back from pre-season and I spoke with my agent and he said Leeds wanted to renew my contract.
“I was happy at the moment so I think ‘yeah’. It was nice to hear, a nice moment for me and my family. I was like ‘yeah, let’s do it’. I have faith in myself, I have belief in myself so I asked Raphinha for his number 10. He told me ‘yes, bro, do it. You’ve got it!’
“I spoke with the captain, Liam Cooper, I spoke with Kalvin Phillips as well. I spoke with a couple of people and it just happened, I thought I’ll take this challenge and just go for it.”
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