Rangers have an advantage over Hamburg if they want to sign Crysencio Summerville from Premier League outfit Leeds United in the summer transfer window, as reported by the Frankfurter Rundschau.
Shorn of the injured Alfredo Morelos, Rangers’ season is in danger of collapsing within the blinking of an eye.
The 2-1 home defeat to Celtic in Sunday’s Old Firm derby hammered another nail into their title coffin while another loss, away at Braga in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first-leg, rubbed enough salt in Gio Van Bronckhorst’s wounds to season a months’ supply of McDonald’s fries.
A Rangers side without Morelos feels like the US Office’s final two seasons without Steve Carrell. Still capable of putting a smile on your face but a pale imitation of their formerly irrepressible selves.
Will Rangers sign Summerville from Leeds?
Summerville, had he arrived from Leeds in the January window when Rangers’ first expressed their interest (Mail), would not have stepped into Morelos’ shoes in Braga or last weekend at Ibrox.
One day after Rangers slipped six points behind Celtic at the top of the table, Dutch U21 international hit a hat-trick, albeit for Leeds’ U23s.
“I thought he played fantastic,” coach Jesse Marsch tells Leeds Live.
“For me, he has grown a lot in the past month. I think this performance is a representation of his professional behaviour, of his work ethic, his mentality to try to learn and adapt.
Summerville appears to have outgrown the relatively small pond that is reserve-team football, however, and wants regular, senior action.
Rangers can offer him that. Particularly if Ryan Kent – a free-agent in 2023 – is sold before entering the final 12 months of his contract. Amad Diallo could go too.
Summerville has admirers in Germany too – especially at a promotion-chasing Hamburg.
Now, Rangers may miss out on automatic qualification for the Champions League, and all the riches that comes with. But the Frankfurter Rundschau point out that the Glasgow giants will still be playing European football in 2022/23, thereby giving them a financial advantage over a Hamburg side fearing a fourth straight season in Germany’s second tier.
Rangers have another advantage, too, in the shape of Van Bronckhorst. After all, the Gers boss worked with Summerville at Feyenoord, before he joined Leeds for a cool £1.3 million.
One suspects Leeds would prefer a loan deal than a permanent departure. But, with just over 12 months left on his contract, that decision may not be theirs to make.
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