Promised new role in World Cup can add millions to Hammer’s price ticket

The biggest shop window in world football kicks off later this month as the largest-ever FIFA World Cup gets underway on 17th June. Several of West Ham’s relegated stars will be hoping for better fortunes with their International sides having endured a miserable domestic season along with their Hammers supporters.

Under the media spotlight several will have an opportunity to enhance their battered reputations and drum up interest form likely suitors: None more so than Crysencio Summerville, a late call up to Ronald Koemans’ Netherlands side and one who could wow fans with his fleet of foot wing work given better protection from FIFA referees than the Premier League pussycats in black who let defenders walk all over him last season.

Summerville”s manager sees a new, surprising role for the winger in which he’s untried at West Ham:

“I’ve also chosen someone else to play on the right wing: Summerville. That comes as no surprise to me, as I wanted to call him up back in March. I like that sort of player who is reliable on the pitch. He’s very capable of playing on the right flank, too, but his work ethic is exceptional” (goal.com)

Summerville as a ‘natural’ rather than inverted winger is an unknown quantity: Both for Leeds and West Ham he’s started on the left although I do remember one game under Graham Potter when he excelled as a right wing back until injured at half time. Surprising Nuno never tinkered with Bowen and Summerville starting on opposite flanks: He fiddled with just about every other player out of position at one time or another last season.

Koeman may have stumbled upon a formula to get the best out of his young talent: In which case, his stock and value will continue to grow throughout the tournament which will please his West Ham Chairman. Sadly, ‘Cry”s success in the WC’26 would just make it even less likely that we’d see Summerville in a Claret and Blue shirt ever again, a truth to which most West Ham fans are already reconciled.