The £65m deal that has seen Crysencio Summerville join Saudi side Al Hilal has got even better for West Ham after a Spurs revelation.
The Hammers confirmed Crysencio Summerville has now officially joined Al Hilal overnight as they beat the likes of Roma, Man United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur to his signature.
Is it any wonder why when they are paying the Dutch winger an eye-watering £15m per year including bonuses.
Summerville deal gets even better for West Ham
Back in east London, it means Daniel Kretinsky’s new West Ham regime have amassed a whopping £155m from the sale of just two players, Summerville and £85m Mateus Fernandes.
That transfer masterclass has seen West Ham wipe out their Premier League deficit – plugging the gap in revenue between being in the top flight and the Championship, for one season at least.
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The interest in Summerville from Saudi was great news for the Hammers, because at one stage the 24-year-old had a straight choice between Manchester United and Tottenham.
Although they paid a huge premium for Fernandes, West Ham fans are not happy at selling another top player to their bitter rivals Spurs following Mohammed Kudus’ £54.5m switch last summer.
Especially as the two clubs had gone nearly 15 years refusing to do deals with one another.
Focus now turns to signings for the Hammers but there is another big positive emerging from the Summerville deal after a Spurs revelation.
At the start of the month, Hammers News exclusively revealed that Summerville would refuse to leave West Ham for Spurs, with the Red Devils his preferred destination.
Summerville snubbed Tottenham out of respect to West Ham
In the end Saudi cash won the day but Summerville has ensured he will get a great reception if he ever does face the Hammers again in the future.
Because The Athletic has confirmed what Hammers News exclusively revealed weeks ago, Summerville did indeed snub Tottenham, telling them he could not do that to West Ham fans.
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Just the 50k season ticket renewals! Not bad for a relegated side…
Confirming Hammers News’ exclusive, The Athletic state that Summerville refused to join Tottenham out of respect to West Ham and insisted he wanted to leave amicably.
A classy move from the flying Dutchman, even if it is rather sad to see him essentially waste the peak years of his football career in Saudi.
While the Middle East league can no longer be called a footballing backwater, it is still miles off European competitions.
Kretinsky’s new regime would have risked sparking doubt among the fanbase had they sanctioned the sale of another top star to Spurs.
But it sounds like Summerville saved Hammers fans from that ignominy rather than those in the boardroom.
And what a contrast from the way Kudus handled his Hammers exit, allegedly refusing to train to force the move before stating he ‘only wanted Spurs’ and had ‘Tottenham in his heart’.
Kudus’ first season in north London was a complete flop as he scored just three goals before suffering an injury which has kept him out since the turn of the year and saw him miss the World Cup.
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