The links with West Ham United may have grown cold anyway, but Jose Mourinho’s comments after Benfica’s thrilling Champions League triumph over Real Madrid saw those Andreas Schjelderup rumours dunked head-first into an ice bath.
Similar to the Souffian El Karouani situation – the Utrecht left-back was clearly keen to join the Hammers until Ollie Scarles’ revival saw El Karouani fall by the wayside – any potential interest in Benfica’s Norway international has waned.
West Ham held discussions to sign Andreas Schjelderup earlier on in January, according to transfer reporter Gianluca Di Marzio. A stylish left-winger with a penchant for opening up defences with his scalpel-like right boot.
When those links emerged, Crysencio Summerville had gone 14 months without a goal for West Ham United.
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A graphic highlightining the rumour linking Crysencio Summerville with a £25m move from West Ham to Tottenham.
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport
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Then, out of nowhere, he scored three in three; QPR, Tottenham and Sunderland falling like dominoes.
Now, a la El Karouani, Schjelderup’s name has all-but disappeared from the gossip columns as Monday’s transfer deadline looms into view.
Not that the Benfica boss would let him go now anyway.
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Jose Mourinho was critical of Schjelderup the other side of Christmas. The former Nordsjaelland starlet ‘struggled’, he said, with the intensity and the defensive tasks required of him. This was not the first time, and it won’t be the last, that the fork-tongued Mourinho had publicly questioned a young player.
Andreas Schjelderup after SL Benfica v Real Madrid C.F. - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD8
Photo by Octavio Passos – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
But, to his credit, Schjelderup didn’t hide. As turning points go, netting a Champions League brace against the tournament’s most successful team – saving Benfica from elimination while consigning Real Madrid to the play-offs – is right up there.
“In the last four games, he played in all of them,” Mourinho said on a night when Schjelderup’s heroics were bettered by a 98th minute header from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
“I believe this Schjelderup is a better player than the one I saw before. He does things he didn’t do before. Some players have a limit, but this is a young man who has a long way to go.”
Schjelderup cancelled out Kylian Mbappe’s opener at the Estadio da Luz after Vangelis Pavlidis – the Benfica striker was linked with West Ham too not so long ago – produced a fine cross. His second of the night, putting Benfica 3-1 up, was special; cutting inside Raul Asensio and fizzing a shot beyond Thibaut Courtois at his near post.
Norway’s ‘dark horses’ tag ahead of the 2026 World Cup becomes even more realistic as another pedigree stallion joins the party.
“One thing is being for sale, another is having offers,” added Mourinho. “If his goal is to go to the World Cup, it’s with these kinds of games that he’ll get there.”
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Nuno Espirito Santo hopes Crysencio Summerville can keep flying form going
Summerville could be at the World Cup himself, of course. That is if the Rotterdam-born former Netherlands Under-21 international accepts Suriname’s invitation.
For now, though, his focus will be on finding the net for a fourth successive match when the Hammers travel to Chelsea. Nuno feels Summerville has been a man transformed partially because of the freedom he has to burst into the penalty area and get on the end of chances, rather than simply supplying them.
“It’s important for our forward players to get confidence by scoring,” Nuno said after he scored only a third-ever headed goal during the 3-1 victory over Sunderland.
“But the important part is that we are getting bodies in the box, creating trouble to our opponents. Asking them questions, how to solve our combinations.”
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