Leeds United’s desperate late trick of bring in former Everton manager Sam Allardyce as a relegation bogeyman to try and send down his former employers for the first time in 72 years proved futile and the Blues are now being linked to a transfer raid on Elland Road after the Yorkshire club dropped into the Championship instead.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri turned to Allardyce in November 2017 after sacking Ronald Koeman but after watching from the Goodison Park stands as the Blues defeated David Moyes’ West Ham United 4-0 in caretaker boss David Unsworth’s final match in charge, the supposed rescue mission for ‘Fireman Sam’ saw his new team climb to 10th in the table with a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town. Everton remained in the top half for the remainder of the season and finished eighth although Allardyce’s attritional style of play proved unpopular with many supporters – the Blues were 20th in the Premier League for shots, shots on target, chances created and chances created from open play during his tenure – and he was sacked three days after the last game of the campaign.
Even though Allardyce had lost his record of never being relegated from the Premier League when his West Bromwich Albion side went down in 2021, Leeds United decided to take a punt on the 68-year-old for the final four matches of 2022/23 but he failed to win any as they suffered the drop while Everton stayed up on the final day despite posting the lowest equivalent points total in their history. With Allardyce gone and the Whites now back in the second tier, a report claims that Sean Dyche is planning on snatching one of their players.
The Daily Telegraph says that Crysencio Summerville is expected to leave Leeds United this summer following their relegation and he is wanted by both Everton and his previous club Feyenoord. The winger started his career with the newly-crowned Eredivisie champions in his home city of Rotterdam but after loan spells at Dordrecht and ADO Den Haag, he moved to England in 2020 for an undisclosed fee.
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Summerville is currently away on international duty at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Georgia and Romania. The Netherlands play all three of their Group A matches in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, starting tonight against Low Countries neighbours Belgium before facing Portugal on Saturday and co-hosts Georgia next Tuesday.
The article states interest in a deal were upwards of £12million for Summerville could increase as he represents the Dutch in the tournament and while Feyenoord – who can offer Champions League football – want him to return – he is also on Everton’s shortlist as they attempt to build a squad to stabilise the club after two years battling against relegation.
Just what might he potentially offer the Blues then? Primarily deployed on the right wing but also used on the left, Summerville made 28 Premier League appearances for Leeds United in 2022/23 although just 12 of these were starts with the other 16 coming off the bench. He provided two assists and the four goals he scored came in consecutive matches between late October and early November against Fulham, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur.
His strike at Anfield was an 89th minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory while the following weekend he did the same against the Cherries as he struck in the 84th minute to secure a 4-3 comeback success after Gary O’Neil’s side had been 3-1 up at Elland Road. When using Comparisonator to assess Summerville’s contributions to those of his Premier League peers in 2022/23, you can see that he’s still very much a work in progress.
His highest ranked category comes in retaining possession as he is fifth among right wingers for the fewest ball losses on 8.8 per 90 minutes with Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron the most efficient on 7.24 while in contrast current Blues wide men Alex Iwobi and Demarai Gray average 8.1 and 8.65 respectively. There is also promise in one-on-one situations with Summerville rated sixth for offensive duels won (7.02), a section that Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers leads with 8.98.
The Dutchman also makes the top 10 for touches in the box (eighth with 3.47, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is first on 5.88); interceptions (ninth with 2.88, Mohamed Elyounoussi of Southampton is first on 4.33); defensive actions (ninth with 8.8, the aforementioned Elyounoussi is again first on 12.77); and expected goals (10th with 0.23, Salah is first on 0.5).
Everton are understood to be targeting two new attackers this summer but along with their obvious need to land a centre-forward – the team netted just 34 goals in 38 Premier League games and main strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay got just one goal apiece from open play – they are also looking for another wide man to provide them with a supply line of chances. The diminutive Summerville – at 5ft 6in he stands approximately four inches taller than his namesake pop singer Jimmy Somerville – offers some promise but while Leeds United will be saying “Don’t leave me this way”, it remains to be seen how with funds understood to be tight at Goodison Park and Financial Fair Play restrictions still biting, how the Blues could structure the move.
By far the biggest deal of director of football Kevin Thelwell’s first summer window in charge, the £33.5million purchase of Amadou Onana from Lille last August showed how Everton could push the boat out for youthful talents who offered significant potential resale value and in that respect, the 21-year-old could fall into a similar profile and follow the likes of Ian Snodin, Gary Speed, Nigel Martyn and Jermaine Beckford across the Pennines.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
