Crysencio Summerville’s West Ham United career has seen plenty of rough moments but this – the catalyst as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team came from behind to beat Burnley – was a welcome dose of something silky smooth.
The reality of having players such as Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta in your ranks is that moments of brilliance often go hand in hand with prolonged spells of frustration. Rough and smooth, in perpetual balance.
Not everyone can enjoy the sort of ruthless consistency displayed week on week by Jarrod Bowen, after all.
It would be difficult to find a West Ham United performance which epitomised the pros and the cons of Lucas Paqueta more efficiently than this. The mercurial Brazilian gave the ball away time and again, through misplaced passes, ill-advised shots and silly flicks.
Yet, it was he who forced the error from Martin Dubravka as supersub Tomas Soucek put Burnley to the sword.
Summerville was not quite at that level of maddening on an afternoon in which West Ham recorded successive Premier League wins for the first time since February, and successive London Stadium victories for the first time since October 2024.
But one month after Nuno Espirito Santo spoke warmly about Summerville’s talents – a ‘very, very aggressive’ footballer who could become a difference-maker in claret and blue – it was the Dutchman who created the chaos which allowed Callum Wilson to sneak in unnoticed at the back post.
Crysencio Summerville during West Ham United v Burnley - Premier League
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Crysencio Summerville justifies Nuno faith as West Ham United beat Burnley
By the time Summerville created Wilson’s 44th minute equaliser on Scott Parker’s East London return – the veteran poacher popped up to head home after a deflection ballooned into his path – West Ham’s £30 million wideman had already racked up his fair share of mazy runs and threatening dribbles.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
A short corner, a darting, driving Summerville run into the box, and a second goal in Hammers colours for the evergreen Wilson.
Nuno watched Summerville tear his Nottingham Forest side apart at the City Ground only four matches into the season. Following an eight-month injury lay-off, the West Ham boss appears to have made it his mission to get the 24-year-old playing with the sort of verve, speed and dynamism arguably only Bowen is capable of matching in claret and blue.
“I think [Summerville has] a lot of talent,” Nuno said back in October. “He has his own specific characteristics. Speed. Very, very aggressive one-on-one.
“What we have to do, a team, is to give Cry the chance to do his actions with space and time. It is our job to give the ball to our front players in the right positions so they can deliver.”
Summerville’s West Ham goal drought has dragged on for more than a year. His only assist so far this term, meanwhile, came during that supersub cameo away to Forest in August.
The stats, though, do not do Summerville’s importance the requisite justice.
Especially not during performances like Saturday’s. Summerville ultimately lacking in the ‘goal contributions’ column, but bringing the bravery, the collar-grabbing aggression, and the willingness to take a risk and make something happen.
Nuno Espirito Santo thinks Summerville is ‘really important’ for the Hammers
On days like this, against relegation rivals and in matches decided by tight margins and individual quality, players of Summerville and Lucas Paqueta’s ilk can very often be the difference between three points, one point, or no points at all.
“I think he can be really important,” Nuno told ESPN after a 2-0 home defeat by Brentford in which Summerville was arguably the only Hammers player who looked likely to produce something, anything, of note.
“So we expect, as time goes by, to elevate his fitness. Because, to produce all of the actions, he has to be on his top level.”
This was not quite Summerville at the very ‘top’ of his game. But, an eighth Premier League start in a row under his belt, West Ham are starting to see some long-awaited returns on their £30 million investment.