Crysencio Summerville arrived at Leeds United from Feyenoord in 2020 and was initially included in their U21 side.
The winger had to wait for a year before he made his first team debut for the Whites, when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge of the Premier League side. He’s managed to feature regularly under Jesse Marsch and also his successor, Javi Gracia.
Algemeen Dagblad have a detailed interview with the 21-year-old, where he explained how his move to Leeds took shape.
Summerville returned to Feyenoord in the summer of 2020 after spending the 2019/20 season on loan at ADO Den Haag.
“I came from the youth of Feyenoord and played for a while on a rental basis at ADO Den Haag. First under Fons Groenendijk and later came Alan Pardew. ADO had a very hard time that season, but I played the games on a stage that I needed,” he said.
“In the summer [of 2020], I returned to Feyenoord, but there I had Steven Berghuis and Luciano Narsingh ahead of me. I absolutely did not demand a basic place, and didn’t want an absurd salary. I was especially hoping for more perspective. In that situation, signing [a new deal] did not make sense.
The Netherlands U21 international has revealed he always had the dream of playing in the Premier League.
“As a little boy you often think: what would it be like to play in the Premier League? I had no doubt that the opportunity would come sooner or later,” Summerville explained.
The attacker was impressed with the plan proposed by Leeds for his development and that convinced him to join the English club.
“I am smaller than many other players. But when I first spoke to Leeds United, there was already a plan. They said ‘you’re still kind of a stick now, Cry’. That had to change,” he said.
“And they knew exactly how. I had to stand my ground against all those physically strong players. I hear so often from people that they see a very different Cry than a few years ago. So that worked out. That Leeds plan was so important.”
Summerville has been a regular for Leeds United, featuring 28 times this season. He’s managed five goals and six assists in the process.
