Leeds United completed their latest summer signing earlier this week with the acquisition of young Dutch forward Crysencio Summerville from Feyenoord.
Summerville’s arrival follows the pattern set by a number of Marcelo Bielsa’s signings in recent seasons, with 18-year-old Summerville arriving as a hot prospect with plenty of potential.
In what is still the early days of what could be a highly successful career for the teenage winger, one of Summerville’s career highlights to date came in 2018 when he helped Holland to win the Under-17s European Championships, a tournament held in England.
Reach reporter Jonty Colman covered that tournament and as the Dutch whiz kids went on to lift the trophy in Rotherham, he took a good look at the Whites’ new signing and provides the low down on what United fans can look forward to...
When seeing Summerville being announced as a Leeds player on Wednesday, it excited me as he is the latest of a long line of players to have come out of that tournament two years ago to already live up to some of the potential I first saw in them in 2018.
Summerville was part of the Dutch side that lifted the Under-17s Euros in England two years ago and made five appearances in Holland’s six matches at the tournament.
He was quick to make an impact during Holland’s opening group match, scoring during their 3-0 win over Germany.
The next meeting against Spain saw Summerville not used for the only time in the tournament, but boss Kees van Wonderen was keen to get the best out of Summerville, starting and playing him in every minute during their subsequent wins over Serbia and the Republic of Ireland, helping them book a place in the semi-finals and a meeting with hosts England.
Their quarter-final win over an Irish side including Derby County’s Jason Knight, Tottenham Hotspur’s Troy Parrott and Norwich City’s Adam Idah, was the first of three straight penalty shootout wins for the Dutch. Summerville started in Holland’s penalty shootout win over an England team including Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka in the semi-finals, featuring as a substitute in the final win over Italy in Rotherham, a tie also decided via penalties.
Summerville’s influence came in a squad that saw only three players included that were younger than him, a testament that his age does not prevent him from having a say in whatever team he plays in.
In terms of his playing style, he is an enigmatic and tricky winger that will cause nightmares for opposition defenders attempting to mark him. Despite his pace and relatively small stature, his shot power does pack a punch.
Since that tournament success in his last trip to England two years ago, he has played a combined 40 times for Dutch sides FC Dordecht and Ado Den Haag across Holland’s top two tiers, scoring twice and providing three assists in 21 Eredivisie appearances last term, an impressive record for someone who started last season as a 17-year-old.
For Holland’s youth sides, he has continued to impress, scoring six goals in five appearances for their under-19s, four of which came during an 8-2 win over Latvia.
By no means is he a finished product yet, but he has bags of potential and under a coach like Bielsa, Summerville will hope to see his stock continue to grow under the guidance of the knowledgeable Argentinian.
