Leeds United are on the cusp of completing a sale for star attacker Crysenio Summerville this summer but have already identified his replacement, according to the latest reports.
The Summerville saga has dragged on long enough but is finally nearing its conclusion as Premier League side West Ham United are closing in on a deal for the Dutchman. World-renowned transfer expert Fabrizio Romano even revealed that the player had undergone a medical with the Hammers on Thursday to finalise his move.
The 22-year-old was in high demand this summer after his excellent season at Elland Road last term in which he bagged 21 goals and registered 10 assists in just 49 appearances in all competitions. He had a queue of top-flight suitors lining out the door to snap him up but the only factor preventing any deal was his price tag.
Romano reported last week that West Ham had submitted an official proposal to Leeds United for Summerville but deemed him too expensive for talks to move ahead. TalkSPORT stated on Wednesday this week that the West Yorkshire outfit were looking for around £40 million in order to sell their star man.
Nevertheless, Romano quashed this report later the same day, claiming that Leeds had agreed a fee in excess of £25 million which includes add-ons and that the player has verbally committed to a long-term contract with the East London side.
With his departure to be announced imminently, Summerville will leave a giant hole in Daniel Farke’s squad which will need to be filled before the end of the transfer window as the Whites look to make a return to the Premier League once more.
One name that is said to be on the recruitment department’s list is former Rangers winger Ryan Kent. That is according to reports in Turkey, via Football FanCast, which state that Leeds have submitted a £2.5 million bid to Fenerbahce to bring the attacker back to England just 12 months after his arrival in the Turkish capital.
This is not the first time that Farke has been eyeing a move for the 27-year-old. It was revealed by TEAMtalk back in November that the Yorkshire club were looking to sign Kent as a possible replacement for Wilfried Gnonto who was keen to earn a transfer away from Elland Road. This deal may now finally come to fruition.
Writer’s View
If the plan from Leeds United is for Kent to replace Summerville in the squad, then this transfer may not be the worst piece of business done by the club in recent years as he is a player with prior experience in the Championship, based on his loan stints with Barnsley and Bristol City, and will be coming in for a relatively low fee.
However, if the plan is for the Oldham-born winger to take Summerville’s place in the squad, then this is a fairly uninspiring signing. Kent has scored merely 38 goals in all competitions over his nine-year career which is just 17 more than his prospective predecessor managed in only one season. Perhaps Farke’s best course of action would be to sign Kent but keep Gnonto and Daniel James as his primary wide players ahead of the forthcoming campaign.
Deputy Head of Writing
