Formed by Hammers supporters Jack Elderton and Callum Goodall to offer their fellow fans in-depth but accessible analysis of their team and its players, Analytics United provide content for the Club's official website, app, Official Programme and social media channels.
For their latest column, Analytics United use performance analysis and data to examine the contribution Crysencio Summerville could make to West Ham United...
West Ham United have confirmed the signing of Crysencio Summerville from Leeds United. The Dutch winger slots into an already impressive array of attacking options in Julen Lopetegui’s squad including Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paquetá and Michail Antonio, adding balance to the group with his natural preference to play on the left.
Having provided four goals and two assists in 12 starts for Leeds in the 2022/23 season after initially breaking into the side with six appearances from the bench the season prior, Summerville joins with some Premier League experience already under his belt. And whilst Leeds may have been relegated that season, the Dutchman used the platform to properly announce himself on the scene with a fantastic winner at Anfield, a delightful curling finish in the 89th minute after nipping past Thiago and in between Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk.
Still 22, the Dutchman then took things up a level last season in the Championship and made it clear to all that he is a star in the making. Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion via the Play-Offs after a third-place league finish, but Summerville finished his campaign with 21 goals and ten assists in all competitions and ranked fourth in the division for combined expected goals and assists. He certainly couldn’t be blamed for the Whites falling just short in the end and is fully deserving of his move back to the top flight.
We’re expecting Lopetegui to shift things tactically at West Ham to introduce more of a 3-4-2-1 in possession shape with the defensive midfielder splitting the centre-backs or a full-back narrowing and sitting back whilst the other advances. As a result, it’s hugely important that the two wide attackers are comfortable in the half-spaces (the space between the flank and the centre of the pitch) and Summerville, much like Kudus, is exactly what Lopetegui will be looking for.
You can identify these half-space specialists by looking for a combination of progressive receptions, take-ons, shot-creating actions, and shots – how often players receive in good areas before turning, dribbling, and creating shooting opportunities for others or themselves. Summerville ranked alongside the best in his position in the Championship in these areas last season with 9.44 progressive passes received per 90 (top 18%), 2.52 successful take-ons per 90 (top 9%), 6.1 shot creating actions per 90 (top 1%), and 3.16 shots per 90 (top 7%).
For comparison, those figures are roughly equal to those of Michael Olise for receiving, Leon Bailey for dribbling, Bruno Fernandes for chance creation, and Bukayo Saka for shooting. Obviously it’s incredibly unlikely that Summerville would be able to reproduce exactly what he managed last season in the division above, but these numbers and comparisons give you a sense of just how impressive his performance levels have been and the players he can now be inspired by and look to match in the Premier League.
Under Daniel Farke last season, Summerville regularly moved inside off his wing whilst Junior Firpo swung round on the overlap, allowing the Dutchman to receive in those dangerous half-spaces and create chaos around him. We mentioned his 21 goals, coming from 0.32 xG per 90 (inside the top 8% in the Championship last season), but his assist tally doesn’t really do him justice given that he ranked in the top 3% in the division for expected assisted goals on 0.3 per 90. With barely anything separating his expected goals and expected assisted goals, he’s clearly equally adept at creating for others as he is at scoring himself.
Incisiveness and creativity can come at the cost of retention as players attempting dribbles and higher risk passes can give it away far more often than others but it’s worth mentioning that Summerville also stands out here, being direct as much as possible but rarely wasting possession. He maintained a 78% passing completion rate, comfortably above the 74% average amongst Championship players to clock in more than 0.2 xA per 90 last season, and a take-on success rate of 51.3%, again comfortably above the 43.15% average amongst players attempting more than three dribbles per match.
Whilst Kudus did an excellent job out on the left for periods last season, he’d likely be more productive in the middle or out on the right and Summerville is the natural counterbalance to the Ghanaian, with him having many of the same attributes but preferring his right foot. Given that both are equally unpredictable and capable of creating for others just as easily as they can score themselves, having the pair occupying the half-spaces would provide an eye-watering, unpressable and possibly irrepressible partnership to transform midfield into attack and ultimately goals on both sides of the pitch.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Analytics United and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of West Ham United.
