Fine-tuning the Boro engine room
Threat of Whites wing attacker not in doubt
LEEDS United’s Crysencio Summerville is so good it’s ‘not normal’ according to a man who has both played with and against the forward.
The 22-year-old, pictured below, has been a key part of the Whites development under Daniel Farke this season, scoring 18 goals in all competitions as Leeds look to reclaim their place back in the Premier League.
Going into the final three games of the season – with a match against Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Monday – United fans are hoping the Dutchman can help fire his side into to the top two as the race reaches its peak.
And according to his Holland Under-21 team-mate – Coventry City’s Milan van Ewijk – there is no one better than Summerville in his position in the entire division. Van Ewijk came up against the Leeds star in the Sky Blues’ 2-1 win earlier this month, but he’s under no illusion how good Summerville is, and has backed him to shine in the Premier League in the future.
“That man is really exceptionally good, that’s not normal,” he told Voetbal International. “He’s the best wing attacker in the Championship. People are finally starting to see how good he is.
“He is in my top three best left wingers I have come across and he is number one. He is showing that he is a Premier League player. He is going to make a step, there is no other way.
“He has to be able to handle that. “But to stand against him, that’s a nice challenge.
“Even if I can keep him calm, you know that one moment is enough for him to create so much space and threat right away.”
THE modern game means there is always a desire for change and new signings, such is the excitement they bring. If there is one thing that this season in particular highlights, it’s the value of continuity.
Boro have been impacted by injuries this season that have resulted in a lack of consistency with regard to team selection, they’ve had to try numerous different combinations in the spine of their team and the developing relationships have meant their midfield hasn’t always looked perfect.
But in recent weeks, as relationships have developed and Lewis O’Brien has built his fitness after a long-term injury to display his quality and drive in Boro’s engine room, a greater balance has resulted in Boro’s midfield looking far more settled. And, if the four midfield options of O’Brien, Jonny Howson, Hayden Hackney and Dan Barlaser are the same next season, then Boro would have a strong spine to build on – though it won’t be simple to achieve that desired continuation.
Interest in Hackney will be almost inevitable this summer, even after an injury-hit campaign. The top prospect is on the radar of most of
England’s top clubs at this stage and they will have seen him shine when he has played, make his England under-21 debut, captain Boro and score a winning goal against Chelsea.
Boro have been adamant in their desire to keep Hackney this summer though, with the young midfielder seen as key to Boro building on this season and pushing for promotion next term. Like Rav van den Berg, they’ll be hoping Hackney is willing to commit to his boyhood club for at least another year in the hope of realising his dream of playing Premier League football for Boro.
His contract running to June 2027 strengthens their position.
Howson’s situation should be a little simpler. Though he will turn 36 next month, Howson’s performance levels continue to encapsulate just how significant he remains.
While Boro chiefs appreciate that they will eventually have to find a longer-term solution, Howson’s desire to play on next season should allow them to kick that can down the road for another 12 months, with Howson showing little signs of slowing down.
O’Brien’s case is the most complicated. On loan from Nottingham Forest, his season has been frustrated by the injury he suffered in September that kept him out until February. It meant that after so much hard work went into signing a player of obvious and proven Championship quality, Boro didn’t see the benefits for a long time.
Though it ultimately hasn’t proven enough to help them achieve a topsix finish, that O’Brien has been a key figure in the current nine-game unbeaten run has at least sought to justify what the recruitment team was aiming to do when they put as much effort as they did into landing the former Huddersfield Town midfielder late last summer.
Can they bring him back next season? The value in doing so should be obvious to anyone watching Boro of late, but there will be many factors outside of Boro’s control.
The first will be Nottingham Forest’s Premier League status – with their points deduction leaving them just one point above the drop zone with five left to play.
Should they remain in the top flight, a summer exit for the 25-yearold seems almost inevitable. But the key question will be, will the price to prise him away from the City Ground, where he still has two years remaining on his contract, be a viable one for Boro – in a summer in which they will have important additions to make in other areas of their squad.
Finally, Barlaser’s Boro future is the one that’s the least complicated as far as the club is concerned, but probably most divisive as far as supporters go.
Injuries being as they are, the former Rotherham man has played far more this term than in his first six months at the club but it’s fair to say he hasn’t always proven convincing.
Dividing opinion like no other current Boro player, Barlaser has the ability to control games with his passing range on his better days, but can also all too often find himself a little passive and lacking an influence in games. It’s for this reason he