Angus Kinnear questions raised for part in Summerville move from Leeds United to West Ham
Leeds United supporters will be angrily questioning CEO Angus Kinnear after his involvement in the departure of Crysencio Summerville to West Ham United.
West Ham writer Sean Whetstone reported via his West Ham Football X account (4 August) that Kinnear, the former managing director at the Hammers, was instrumental in brokering a deal between the sides.
The deal was officially announced on Saturday (3 August) for a reported fee of £25million plus add-ons as Summerville sealed his exit from Elland Road, penning a five-year contract with West Ham (Florian Plettenberg, 3 August).
Leeds United could have got higher fee for Crysencio Summerville
There was an overwhelming feeling of acceptance surrounding Leeds following their Championship play-off final defeat to Southampton that Summerville would leave the club this summer.
What Leeds fans didn’t expect, however, was for Archie Gray to be the first major outgoing as he sealed a £30m move to Tottenham last month (BBC Sport, 2 July), and for the club to receive a lower fee than that for Summerville.
The 22-year-old was the Championship Player of the Year last season with 20 goals and nine assists in 45 appearances, and the Whites should have fetched a much higher fee for their prized asset.
Leeds placed a £40m valuation on the Dutchman (talkSPORT, 30 July) with interest from the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle and Paris Saint Germain, but the interest failed to materialise into anything concrete, leaving West Ham free to make their move.
With the Championship curtain-raiser against Portsmouth less than a week away, Daniel Farke has little time to waste in finding an adequate replacement, and finding a player to replace the loss of 29 goal contributions last term will be no easy task.
The Whites are aware that clubs will raise the price for their players (Graham Smyth, 2 August) as we approach the final weeks of the transfer window, and despite the numerous reports on the Summerville deal, they have asked West Ham not to disclose the fee they paid for the Dutchman (Sean Whetstone, 3 August).
It is not all doom and gloom at Elland Road, however, and despite losing two of their star players, United still have one of, if not the, best side in the second division and should be capable of mounting a Premier League promotion charge this season.
As for the Summerville deal, though, questions will be asked of Kinnear’s role in the deal and whether it was worth holding out for more from a club he is not associated with.
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