Crysencio Summerville is making more and more minutes at the highest level at Leeds United this season. The twenty-year-old attacker decided to leave Feyenoord in September 2020. A choice that has not gone wrong for Summerville so far. “Now I feel like I’m really chasing my dream,” he says in an interview with the General Newspaper.
Summerville has made four appearances in the Premier League this season. “This is just the beginning,” said the attacker. “I know players often say it, but it’s true: I work really hard every day to get better. I want more and more, but let’s just say the start is good.” The attacker made his first minutes in the Premier League on September 17 against Newcastle United (1-1). the peacocks. “I am the youngest debutant at Leeds since 2003, I read recently. I get my chances from the manager and that motivates me to push even more.”
Summerville went through almost the entire youth academy of Feyenoord, but a breakthrough in De Kuip was not possible after rental periods to FC Dordrecht and ADO Den Haag. “I knew that I had strong competition with Luis Sinisterra, Steven Berghuis and Luciano Narsingh in the hunt for a starting place,” says the winger. “So of course I didn’t demand playing time, you can’t just beat Berghuis out of it. I was hoping for a plan, for a clear idea from the club to quickly take me to a higher level at Feyenoord.”
The youth international still had a contract for a year with Feyenoord, but decided after much deliberation to opt for an adventure at Leeds. “My contract only lasted one year. But I doubted, I wanted to break through”, Summerville is honest. “No, then it’s not about money at all, dude. I’ve read that everywhere.” In his own words, the attacker mainly lacked perspective. “We started talking and my agents left the choice to me. And suddenly I was out. I wanted to go to Leeds. Yes, perspective is the right word. That has to be there, without making unreasonable demands.”
Under Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, Summerville regularly gets the chance to show himself in the Premier League this season. “There really is a plan here with the young guys,” he says. The youngster was replaced by his Argentine trainer against Newcastle United, West Ham United, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. “In the cup I started against Fulham and came in against Arsenal. And trust me, that level is no joke, is it. After the game, you’re just panting in the locker room. The pace is so high and coming in is really difficult.”