Summerville Finds Route Out Of Stratford

After the departures of both Mateus Fernandes and Callum Wilson in recent weeks, West Ham United have confirmed today that Crysencio Summerville’s impending permanent move to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal was ratified after a deal worth up to £60m had been agreed on Tuesday.

Summerville joined the Hammers as part of the so-called “new dawn” under Julen Lopetegui in the summer of 2024 but, to be fair to then Technical Director Tim Steidten, the former Leeds United winger was arguably one of his better purchases.

It took a while for the 24-year-old Dutchman to get up and running in East London, registering his first goal for the club in September of that year, when they came from behind to earn a “big” three points at home to Manchester United. However, he failed to score again until he notched the opener in the 2-1 win away at Tottenham Hotspur last season and that got him firing on all cylinders. From that point on, he added another six in all competitions.

Relegation often sees a team’s best players leave and if a move was on the cards, then after it was reported that the Irons would have to sell whatever division they would end up in, the hierarchy in East London were simply left with little choice but to accept if a sizeable offer was forthcoming due to their previous financial results. They rightly saw Summerville as a valuable asset.

It first looked as though Summerville would be heading back to the Premier League as Manchester United showed their interest and it then seemed that he would be reunited with Fernandes at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but none of those moves materialised and foreign clubs got involved. Earlier this week, AS Roma launched a bid of £39m however, that was dismissed out of hand by the hierarchy and although the Italian outfit improved their offer a day later, it was still seen as not enough to prise him away from the East End.

The new Board were then really interested later that day when Al Hilal came to table and together with the money that they have received for Fernandes, they should be able to identify and acquire the sort of player that Head-Coach Nuno Espírito Santo thinks he needs to ensure they are playing top-flight football again in 2027/28.

The summer transfer window may have been open since 15 June but now that the FIFA World Cup is over, activity is surely going to heat up. Espírito Santo is still yet to make his first signing ahead of a promotion challenge in the Sky Bet Championship. News of that, as well as any other movement will appear here as soon as anything is confirmed.