Liverpool transfers: Summerville names Reds icon as his favourite player

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Leeds United forward Crysencio Summerville during the upcoming transfer window. 

The 22-year-old scored 19 times in the Championship season - adding nine assists - as the Whites qualified for the playoffs. 

Leeds face Southampton at Wembley on Sunday in the winner-takes-all contest, with Summerville adding a goal in the semi-final win against Norwich at Elland Road. 

His form this season put him in the shop window for Premier League clubs, with Liverpool’s interest in the Leeds player of the season revealed earlier this year. 

Summerville is under contract with the Yorkshire giants until 2026 and is reportedly available for £30 million this summer. 

He came through the youth ranks at Feyenoord - new coach Arne Slot’s former club - where he came under the mentorship of a former Liverpool forward - before moving to Leeds in 2020 for a bargain £1.3m. 

Dirk Kuyt represented Liverpool from 2006 until 2012, scoring 71 times in 285 games. Following his playing career, the Netherlands international moved into coaching, guiding Feyenoord’s under-19 side between 2018 and 2020. 

It was there he encountered the young Summerville and the Championship standout has revealed the impact Kuyt has had on his life and career. 

Summerville reveals Kuyt admiration

“Growing up I watched Neymar and Messi a lot, but in Rotterdam I looked up to Eljero Elia, a left winger from Feyenoord, and a Dutch legend in Dirk Kuyt,” he told TEAMtalk.

“He was also my coach in the Under-19s, so I learned a lot from him.

“He [Kuyt] taught me more about things off the pitch because I was struggling a bit in terms of maturity. 

“The small details, for example, like not being late to training and instead being the first one on the pitch. 

“These are the small details which can make the difference, so I’m very thankful for that.”

Liverpool have just waved goodbye to long-time manager Jurgen Klopp with incoming sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG’s newly-appointed CEO of Football Michael Edwards overseeing transfer policy. 

The Reds are reported to be in the market for a wide forward amid uncertainty over the future of Luis Diaz and Summerville could fit the bill having been schooled in Slot’s former club. 

If he needs any reconnaissance on how things work at Anfield, then he can surely speak with his mentor Kuyt.