Crysencio Summerville's former manager gives verdict on Leeds United star amid Liverpool transfer warning

Alan Pardew believes Crysencio Summerville is destined for the Premier League but has questioned whether he’d be ready to join a club like Liverpool this summer.

Experienced manager Pardew has contributed to Summerville’s development, having taken charge of Dutch outfit ADO Den Haag when the winger was on loan from Feyenoord during the 2019/20 campaign. Summerville joined the Eredivisie side as a 17-year-old initially, scoring twice in 21 appearances before football was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Having joined Leeds the following summer for just £1.5million, Summerville has developed into one of Europe’s most sought-after young wingers and enjoyed an outstanding first full season of regular football, bagging 21 goals and 10 assists on his way to the Championship Player of the Season award. That form has attracted the interest of several Premier League clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea and Brighton.

The 22-year-old looks set to make the next step in his career and a move to the Premier League looks likely. But Pardew has warned about making the jump to a top club too early and suggested a move to the AMEX might be best for the Dutchman’s long-term development.

“I had him at ADO Den Haag when he was there,” Pardew told talkSPORT. “We took him on loan. He was only like 16, 17. Such a lovely kid. He was open. I had Alex Dyer assisting me, and we worked really hard with him to try and get him to understand what it really was in terms of men’s football at such a young age.

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“A bit like Yamal at Barcelona. Took like a duck to water. No problem. He never feared anybody and he has brought that to Leeds. What he has is over a three-yard spell, he has acceleration that you just can’t stay with him. And he has the technique to beat people. Obviously, once he is gone, forget it, he is gone. It’s just his final decision that’s going to be the crux for him in terms of reaching the real higher platforms of football. He is definitely a Premier League player for sure.

“What I am saying is to get to Liverpool, I can see why they might sort of, Brighton might be a better move for him to see how he copes. Does he pick that moment? That’s the difference between having extraordinary pace and being brilliant in the Premier League is the decision-making process.”

Summerville consistently made the right decisions last season but the likely pull of regular football could see him decide to choose somewhere like Brighton over the clubs challenging for Champions League football. The winger was almost ever-present during United’s unsuccessful promotion push, starting 44 of his side’s 49 league games including the play-offs.

That amount of football is unlikely to come again in the Premier League, regardless of which club he joins, but Brighton have provided a clear pathway to regular starts for the likes of Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma in recent years. The Seagulls have reportedly emerged as frontrunners after making contact over a potential move, albeit Leeds are confident they can hold out for a fee that suits them, with price-tags ranging between £30-40m.