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Joe Donnohue

Crysencio Summerville hat-trick for Leeds United U23s shows Marcelo Bielsa has strength in depth

Crysencio Summerville is a decidedly difficult name to forget. It is even less forgettable after he scored a hat-trick on just his second start for Leeds United's U23s at Burnley yesterday.

The Dutchman - signed in the summer from Eredivisie club Feyenoord - arrived to much intrigue but it is not until now that Leeds United fans have been able to see what he is all about.

From the first whistle at the County Ground in Leyland, Summerville terrorised Burnley who started slowly and could not compete with the electric straight-line speed of the teenager.

A youth international for his country, and Under-17 European champion, Summerville has match-winning pedigree - and it showed.

Beren Cross reacts to Leeds United's 3-0 defeat to Crawley Town

While two of his strikes on the day were mere tap-ins, his second goal was a showing of real quality. On a boggy and heavy pitch, Summerville controlled a switch from Charlie Cresswell wide on the right flank, before instantaneously moving inside playing a neat give-and-go with Liam McCarron.

Upon receiving the ball back, Summerville did not break stride, instead playing a one-two with Bobby Kamwa as he drew closer to the Burnley goal.

The ball cannoned back into Summerville's path whose slight feint made the goalkeeper commit, missing the ball entirely, leaving him with an empty net. It was a clinic in controlling one's body as a flighty attacking player.

Had Summerville not scored that goal of the season contender, it would not have been his goals that were most impressive. His link-up with his U23 teammates was well-honed, despite sharing less than 200 minutes on the pitch with them since the beginning of the season.

While others laboured under the conditions, Summerville floated gracefully, in the same way £17 million man Raphinha does. To the naked eye, it only seemed as though Niall Huggins could make a case for out-sprinting the Dutchman throughout the 90 minutes, which was emblematic of the team's collective endeavour.

On a macro scale, it shows that Leeds' U23 recruitment has been absolutely brilliant in the close season following promotion. Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Cody Drameh and now Summerville all look like incredibly smart pick-ups, with first-team potential.

Four players signed for roughly £5 million up front is a lot of money for U23 football, but if the pathway to the first team is there, then it is shrewd business.

We have seen already this season that there are opportunities, with Ian Poveda playing an increased role in first-team affairs, retaining his place on merit, which equally, is reason for positivity.

It may still be too early to decide on Summerville's ceiling as a professional footballer, but his showing against Burnley demonstrated he is a class above at least the vast majority of players Leeds have faced in PL2 this season.

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