Crysencio Summerville is approaching a pivotal point in his fledgling career at Elland Road. The Leeds United youngster was used sparingly in the first-team last season, making just six Premier League appearances, with a handful of further outings coming in cup competitions.
As such, Summerville played most of his football with the under-23s last season, where he scored six goals, including a hat-trick against Crystal Palace and made a habit of showcasing his talent and potential. However, he is now in need of first-team game time on a regular basis and he’ll no doubt be pushing to get that one way or the other this season.
If reports are to be believed, the 20-year-old is not short of interest from elsewhere, and it seems Leeds have a decision to make this summer regarding his future at the club and his development.
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With that in mind, here’s a look at the Whites’ Summerville options for next season.
Stay at Elland Road
Jesse Marsch made it clear that he was a fan of Summerville’s towards the end of the year as he spoke about trying to find ways to give the Netherlands under-21 international a chance at first-team level. The American was able to give him just seven minutes of game time, though, as he missed the final few weeks of the season through an ankle injury.
As such, Marsch will be keeping a keen eye on his progress over pre-season, and he’ll expect Summerville to return to training with a spring in his step and a determination to nail down a place in his plans. Of course, he does have competition for a spot in the side, but he’ll fancy his chances of competing alongside the likes of Dan James, Jack Harrison and the returning Ian Poveda.
If he is to stay at Elland Road, though, he will, no doubt, require certain assurances regarding game time moving forward given another season of under-23s football probably wouldn’t benefit either the player or the club at this stage in his career.
A loan
Summerville is known to have pushed for a loan move away from Leeds in January under Marcelo Bielsa in the hope of getting more first-team minutes under his belt and he did attract interest with 2. Bundesliga club Hamburger SV being linked. However, he stayed with Leeds for the remainder of the season and found game time extremely hard to come by.
As such, a loan switch for Summerville may well be an option moving forward and if he was to leave, the winger would almost certainly be able to play at a relatively high level. Leeds are unlikely to want to loan him to a Premier League rival, but he could make real progress at a top-end Championship club or even a top-flight foreign club.
Given his contract is entering its final year, Leeds could also insist he pens a new deal before making the temporary move away.
A permanent switch
The Dutchman is attracting interest this summer and a number of clubs have already been linked with his signature. Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest are keen, according to The Athletic, while Sheffield United are also said to be keeping a close eye on him.
Either of those moves could be of interest to Summerville as he looks for regular minutes, but so much depends on Marsch’s plans. If he has a role to play in the first-team then Leeds will be reluctant to see him leave, if he doesn’t, though, his contract situation means a permanent transfer may well be considered, with his market value only set to drop as his deal ticks down.
