West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville has drastically turned things around since the start of 2026.
The Dutchman produced just one assist in the first half of the season, with no goals, but has now scored five in the league this year. He’s playing a crucial rule in West Ham’s efforts to stay in the Premier League.
The Hammers remain in the bottom three as it stands. But they are level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and just one point behind Tottenham Hotspur in 16th.
If Nuno Espirito Santo’s side manage to survive, the former Leeds winger will undoubtedly be one of the main reasons why.
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2026 Summerville
Summerville has averaged 0.5 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League since the turn of the year. It’s an incredibly impressive return for a winger in a side battling to avoid relegation. The 24-year-old has really grabbed the bull by the horns and taken responsibility when he could have easily rolled over and accepted West Ham’s fate.
West Ham went into 2026 with their most recent victory back in November, when they beat Burnley. So Summerville was playing in a side that were seriously struggling and looking destined for the drop.
Summerville has now developed into a goalscoring and tricky winger, replicating similar form to what we saw at Leeds United.
Summerville’s role at West Ham hasn’t changed drastically since the turn of the year. But looking at the heatmaps, he’s spending less time coming into central areas. The Dutch winger continues to operate from the left-hand side, but Espirito Santo is getting him more involved with more touches, allowing him to be more of a creative and goalscoring threat.
After his performances in the first half of the season, many West Ham supporters will have been labelling Summerville a failed signing. But he’s now, arguably, one of their most important players.
West Ham brought in multiple new forwards in January, given them more box presence, and that’s helped Summerville. The former Leeds man has more to aim for in the penalty area, and he’s now producing 3.01 crosses per 90 compared to 0.93 in 2025.
The number of chances he creates per 90 has naturally increased, too. But Summerville is still waiting to produce an assist in the second half of the campaign. It’s not for the want of trying, with Summerville becoming more of a creative threat. But the Hammers have struggled to create chances all season, and he’s perhaps unfortunate not to have more assists to his name.
Summerville fits the bill for big clubs
In the modern era, it’s rare that you see some of the bigger clubs in the Premier League sign experienced, fully established players. Recruitment strategies are drastically shifting to signing young talent from around the world.
A lot of clubs appear to be fully against targeting players over the age of 25/26, and it makes sense due to financial regulations.
If West Ham are relegated from the Premier League, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a host of top clubs in England looking to secure themselves a bargain. Summerville is just 24 years old and showing plenty of promise.
Clubs are extremely data-led nowadays and will look deeper than goals and assists. Summerville is yet to produce an assist in 2026, but he’s producing 0.24 Expected Assists and 1.24 chances created per 90. That suggests poor finishing from his teammates has let him down at times.
Clubs will also take into account the side he’s currently playing in. Summerville is producing good numbers in the second half of the campaign in a team that doesn’t dominate possession.
His production in the final third has increased when given more touches of the ball. It’s a positive sign that his performances can translate to a better team. Summerville’s age profile and numbers will likely make him a target for many clubs in the Premier League, regardless of whether West Ham are relegated or not.
Remaining in the Premier League is the only goal for Espirito Santo and his team at the moment. And it’s going to drastically shape their transfer business in the summer, incomings and outgoings.
It’s unclear whether Summerville has a relegation clause in his contract with the Hammers. Bt if he does, for a reasonable fee, he’d be a smart pickup for the majority of the Premier League. The Dutch winger could be one of the biggest talking points in the upcoming market, and deservedly so after his turnaround over the last few months.