Crysencio Summerville has officially signed for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal this summer.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Netherlands international completed his medical on Tuesday ahead of a €70m-plus [£59.8m] transfer.
This comes despite reports indicating that Liverpool were prepared to escalate their own alleged interest in the player.
To tell the truth, we’re not necessarily devastated about this latest update from Ornstein.
🚨 Crysencio Summerville signs for Al Hilal from West Ham United. 24yo put pen to paper on 4yr deal – fee just over €70m to #WHUFC. Medical done in Amsterdam on Tuesday. Top priority for new #AlHilal ownership + director Simon Francis @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/COvyDRJbC9
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 23, 2026
While it’s clear to see from Summerville’s exploits at the World Cup that there is a quality winger to take advantage of, we’re not sure we’ve seen enough to justify a £60m-plus spend on the footballer.
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Mind, the inflation on show in the current window has massively moved the needle when it comes to what’s considered a “reasonable price” for a Premier League (or former, we should say) talent.
But whatever way you slice it, it’s a stonking big fee for a relegated footballer.
In a strange way, it has highlighted the pressing need for Liverpool to pursue targets higher up the food chain to ensure they’re getting appropriate bang for their buck.
Certainly, if you’re going pound for pound, there can surely be little in the way of objection to the notion that Bradley Barcola is considerably better value for money around the £100m mark than Summerville at £60m.
It’s still a heck of a lot of money for an elite winger talent, of course, and even bigger price tags have been floated as far as the France international is concerned.
But, ultimately, Liverpool find themselves in the rather uncomfortable position of committing to what appears to be a ludicrous, agent-driven saga with Yan Diomande or playing a waiting game with PSG. Or, worse yet, signing a player for an inflated fee that doesn’t reflect elite status on the pitch.
So, really, we haven’t lost a serious transfer target so much as been reminded that it’s easy to spend big and wrong in this market just for the sake of bringing a body in.
That being said, we really wouldn’t mind seeing some bodies come through the door in the near future…
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