Leeds United’s squad was picked apart over the summer transfer window after they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League.
Departures were expected this summer after the Yorkshire club’s defeat in the Championship play-off final, but perhaps not on such a large scale
As many as 14 players left Elland Road permanently this summer, six of them as free agents.
Archie Gray was one of the first big names to leave in a £40m move to Tottenham, while Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville followed him out the door to complete big-money moves to the Premier League.
Summerville won the Championship Player of the Season last campaign but left Elland Road this summer in a £25m move to West Ham – a deal that was encouraged by former teammate Kalvin Phillips.
Kalvin Phillips encouraged Crysencio Summerville exit
Phillips left Leeds in 2022 after completing a £45m move to champions Manchester City.
However, his career has nosedived since the move with Phillips dropping out of Pep Guardiola’s plans and struggling to settle during a six-month loan spell at West Ham.
The 28-year-old was on the move again this summer joining Ipswich Town on loan in his latest attempt to get his career back on track since leaving Leeds.
According to The Athletic, Phillips “encouraged” Summerville to join West Ham after the Hammers showed an interest in signing him.
When Summerville asked Phillips for his opinion on the club, he reportedly praised staff behind the scenes, the player care team and how likeable the squad is. He also stressed that Summerville would have no issues settling in.
Summerville has only started once since completing his move to London, but manager Julen Lopetegui has shown his faith in the Dutch winger by handing him the No.7 shirt.
Leeds United’s transfer business this summer
After losing so many key players this summer, it was essential that Leeds sourced good replacements before the transfer window slammed shut.
They left it late, but Leeds made a late surge to bring Ao Tanaka, Isaac Schmidt and Manor Solomon to the club.
Only time will tell if Daniel Farke has sufficiently improved his squad after it was picked apart over the summer, but an impressive 2-0 win over Hull City on Saturday suggests Leeds have what it takes to be in the race for promotion once again this season.
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