West Ham fans have been trying to tell Julen Lopetegui about the man they signed from Leeds for months but he wouldn’t listen.
They say cream always rises to the top and that was the case when West Ham beat Man United 2-1.
A star was born at West Ham but the club has Leeds United to thank for what’s set to be the bargain of the decade.
The capture of Crysencio Summerville from Leeds represented a hugely exciting deal for West Ham in the summer.
Losing the 22-year-old Dutchman was obviously a bitter blow for Leeds.
It was however an inevitable one after their failure to win promotion back to the Premier League last season.
The Hammers had been linked with Summerville but signing the Championship’s top player looked a long shot with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and mega rich Newcastle also reportedly interested.
When West Ham did swoop to seal a deal, the fee was shrouded in a strange secrecy.
There was claim and counter claim about how much West Ham paid Leeds for Summerville.
In the announcement of the winger’s departure on their website, Leeds United revealed West Ham had activated a clause in the star’s contract.
On West Ham’s side there was also an agreement between the clubs not to publicise the fee paid.
In the end the truth will always out and a top Hammers insider revealed exactly what West Ham paid Leeds for Summerville – £26m.
By modern standards that looked a bargain.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, though.
Thank you Leeds United is the message from West Ham
And so far this season Julen Lopetegui has only been giving fans a little taste of what Summerville has to offer.
Impressed by cameo displays, West Ham fans have been calling for Summerville to start games.
Those pleas have fallen on deaf ears. But with Mohammed Kudus banned for his red card at Spurs, it seemed inevitable Summerville would finally get his start.
Hammers fans – and undoubtedly any Leeds supporters taking an interest in the game given their rivalry with Man United – were shocked.
West Ham were so poor in the first half, Lopetegui was forced to bow to the will of the Hammers faithful.
On came Summerville at half-time.
He lit up the London Stadium with his speed, skill, intelligence and fearlessness.
Summerville turned the match on its head – as he’d done so often for Leeds.
He scored to put West Ham in front and was a constant menace. He was the best player on the pitch in that second half and it says everything that he was named the man of the match.
Not only did his performance vindicate the club’s fans, it crystalised just what West Ham have pulled off here.
The club owes Leeds United a big thank you as it’s clear to see a world class future for bargain buy Summerville.
Hammers see world class future for bargain buy Summerville
Leeds boss Daniel Farke said West Ham were getting a player who’s irreplaceable in the summer.
The world got to see why against Man United.
This is not meant to patronise Leeds. They are a massive club who belong in the Premier League and look a good bet to return this season.
But they are the club who have set Summerville on this path and deserve their flowers for that.
It’s a path which looks almost certain to lead to full international honours with Holland.
The Hammers winger has represented the Dutch at every youth level but is yet to earn a senior cap.
It’s clear, though, that’s a matter of time because Summerville has everything needed to shine on the world stage.
He will surely stay in the West Ham team after this and Holland won’t be able to ignore him for the November internationals against Hungary and Bosnia.
That could well be the start of Summerville making a name for himself on a global level.
West Ham fans have seen the future after a star was born at the London Stadium.
The man they signed from Leeds for £26m really can be their next world class star.
From Feyenoord to Iron forged thanks to the White heat of Elland Road.
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