Phil Hay identifies two players Leeds had considered as possible Summerville replacements in Jan

Leeds United had looked at signing Takumi Minamino and Kenedy as possible replacements for Crysencio Summerville in January, according to journalist Phil Hay.

Summerville was linked with a move away from Elland Road late in the month, with a loan switch to Hamburg mooted.

Instead, the 20-year-old ended up staying put at Leeds, where he will hope to play an important role in the Whites’ bid to remain in the Premier League this season. He has made eight appearances in all competitions so far in 2021/22, including five in the league.

According to Hay in an article for The Athletic, both Liverpool’s Minamino and Chelsea’s Kenedy were seen as options if Summerville had moved on from Leeds in January. The journalist wrote:

“Various clubs in Europe were asking about Summerville but Marcelo Bielsa’s instinct was to hang onto him. The danger, as Leeds saw it, was that if Summerville insisted on moving on loan, as Cody Drameh did, then Bielsa might quickly usher him out the door.

“In which case, the club would be another man down and under pressure to rustle up a replacement. They took a tentative look at Takumi Minamino of Liverpool and Chelsea’s newly back from loan Kenedy but stepped back again once the decision to retain Summerville was made.”

Summerville is unlikely to be a key figure at Leeds in the coming months, considering that the likes of Raphinha, Jack Harrison and Dan James are all ahead of him in the pecking order.

That being said, he could see it as a great opportunity to prove his long-term worth to the club, potentially affecting games upon coming off the bench and looking to create opportunities from out wide.

He caught the eye of Beren Cross last summer, with the Leeds Live journalist describing the youngster as