How Crysencio Summerville's 'crazy 48 hours' unfolded as medical finally authorised for West Ham exit
Crysencio Summerville's move from West Ham to Al-Hilal is all but done.
Summerville, 24, is on the verge of a mega-money to the Middle East that sees the Hammers pocket an initial £55million, with £10m add-ons potentially being secured for the future.
Mateus Fernandes' sale to Tottenham earlier in the summer means that West Ham's income on player exits is now near to £150m.
Fabrizio Romano reported via his X account on Wednesday evening that Summerville has now given the "green light" to Al-Hilal to sign him, with a verbal agreement in place.
It is understood that the Netherlands international is now authorised to undergo a medical with the Saudi Premier League outfit.
Wednesday's news caps off what has been a mad couple of days for the former Leeds winger.
Roma, Aston Villa and now Al-Hilal - Crysencio Summerville's mad week
Romano has described the last 48 hours as "crazy" with Al-Hilal now getting that famous "here we go" message over completing a deal.
Roma had been trying to sign Summerville and seemed to think that they had a deal close to completion, before Al-Hilal swooped in.
West Ham Zone has also covered claims that Aston Villa had agreed a fee with West Ham for the Dutchman, but no terms were ever in place between the player and the Birmingham club.
Instead, it had been reported that Summerville wanted to join Roma, who, unfortunately for them, could not meet West Ham's asking price for the Dutch ace.
It now means that Summerville has fallen into the grip of Al-Hilal and the spending machine that is the Saudi Premier League.
But is that possibly the last we'll see of him in a major league?
What next for Summerville?
It's always sad to see a talented young player leave a respected league - wherever it is in the world - to join a club in the Saudi Premier League.
The perception is that they've simply gone for the money because, let's face it, they're not going there for the huge crowds, the scintillating derbies and the ever-lasting glory.
Summerville is only 24 years old, so he has his best years ahead of him.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he'll ever reach his peak by going to the Middle East, with other younger players suffering a similar fate.
One great example is Gabri Veigas, who was a top talent in Spain when he was on the books at Celta Vigo.
He was a star of La Liga and had been playing regularly for Spain's Under-21s prior to a move to Al-Ahli in 2023.
Last year, he returned to Europe to play for Porto, but the Spanish midfielder has since failed to play a single senior game for his country and could have been at the World Cup this year had he stayed in a major league.