What Al Hilal Are Getting For Their Money
With confirmation that Crysencio Summerville has joined Al Hilal, with the Hammers receiving a whopping £55m with £10m in add-ons, according to Fabrizio Romano, what are they getting for that outlay?
While I’ve watched him play for the last two seasons, the numbers reveal some interesting statistics. Five goals and two assists in 31 appearances last season are modest, but the underlying data shows a player who influences games through activity rather than efficiency.
Summerville attempted 105 dribbles at a 49% success rate, which is a sign of constant ball progression even if it comes with turnovers. His 170 duels won underlined his competitiveness, though his seven aerial wins highlighted a clear weakness.
Defensively, he contributed through energy rather than positioning. Forty-five tackles, 16 interceptions and four blocks paint the picture of a winger who presses and competes but, unsurprisingly, isn’t a reliable defensive presence.
The Championship season with Leeds United yielded 19 goals and nine assists in 43 games, proving he can be a major attacking threat when given rhythm and freedom. Yet this never really stepped up in the Premier League, which may be why Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa hesitated in making an offer.
According to Transfermarkt, injury-wise, Summerville had one catastrophic hamstring injury that distorted his record, keeping him out for 247 days. Beyond that, he suffered short, manageable soft-tissue issues, yet these niggling injuries caused him to miss crucial games, in particular at West Ham.
West Ham Begin Search For Replacement
With the transfer fee received, West Ham will now begin a search for his replacement, and this is where Nils Koppen will really earn his money!
Amario Cozier-Duberry is one player admired by the club, yet with Brighton having already rejected a £5m bid from a club in Belgium, it remains to be seen what figure will sway the Sussex club to cash in on the player, who is contracted until June 2028.
Abdul Fatawa was another name that had been mentioned, yet has now signed for Ipswich Town – you snooze, you lose, eh!
An outsider option could also be Morgan Whittaker, who scored 14 goals for Middlesbrough last season following his arrival from Plymouth Argyle in January 2025, in a deal worth £5m with £2.5m in add-ons.
West Ham fans will have to accept that paying Premier League wages in the Championship for a lot of players will be difficult, yet Nuno will need a replacement on the wing, and the sooner the better!
For the type and cost of players we will be targeting this window West Ham are going to look an attractive proposition. Join West Ham and there’s a fair chance you’ll have a chance of playing in the PL next season. As much as other teams may attempt to jack up prospective transfer fees and block moves for players those players and their agents may well want the move. We are the big swinging thingy in the league.
Summerville was a good player,nothing more,he may well develop to be a assist and goal king out in SA but it won’t matter. He’ll not benefit in a football sense but his bank balance will. Crazy decision what a waste,to many have stagnated there.
We have Earthy and LaMadrid who will develop. Hopefully a pacey full on left winger may become available.
I wonder if we will end up with the ludicrous spectre of ward prowse being utilised as a left sided midfielder as he did on Wednesday evening? I’m fearful we are already way behind other teams in terms of a squad let alone a starting 11 and some of the players we could have possibly got have moved on to other teams leaving us with the choice of paying too much for a player or simply deciding to try yet again to manoeuvre square pegs into round holes. It’s obvious that we have very little money and that’s why we have been getting puff pieces about the likes of JWP from the usual outlets and we heard the commentators on Wednesday constantly eulogies his incredible ability 🤣🤣 we need pace and drive out wide something we are sorely lacking
Keep the faith in think we will be pleasantly surprised by the players that come in in the next 3 weeks.COYI.