‘West Ham Played Dirty’ – Italian Journalist Blasts Hammers Over Crysencio Summerville | OneFootball

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Italian journalist Luca Cerchione has accused West Ham United of ‘playing dirty’ with Roma by negotiating Crysencio Summerville’s transfer to Al-Hilal behind the scenes.

Following West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League, several players have been tipped to leave the London Stadium this summer, and departures are set to pick up pace.

One of them is Summerville, who has attracted strong interest from Italian giants Roma after Gian Piero Gasperini identified the Dutch winger as one of his priority targets earlier this summer.

Summerville had been demanding a salary of €6m per year, with Roma initially viewing his wage demands as too high on top of the transfer fee required to sign him.

There was movement though, with the deal becoming an affordable one for Roma.

Just this week the Italian side were in ‘the closing stages’ of their move to sign the Hammers star, despite Aston Villa also keeping a watch.

Now however, in a dramatic twist, Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal have hijacked the deal and reached an agreement with West Ham for Summerville, with the total package expected to be worth around €80m.

Roma risk being left high and dry, and that has led to anger in Italy.

Italian journalist Cerchione has accused West Ham of having ‘played dirty’ with Roma by rejecting multiple bids from the Italian side for Summerville, while simultaneously negotiating his sale to Al-Hilal.

The journalist also called out the Hammers for their tactics to drive up the winger’s price.

Cerchione wrote on X: “West Ham played dirty with Roma, who, in the late morning today, made another move for the umpteenth time by adding a further £2m in bonuses to the £42m already offered yesterday.

“The English, however, were already negotiating the transfer of Summerville with Al-Hilal as well.”

Roma might still have a chance as Summerville has ‘not yet accepted’ a move to Saudi Arabia and there could be raised eyebrows if he does, especially given his age and desire to make sure he keeps his spot in the Netherlands squad.

The Italian side will now hope Summerville turns down Al-Hilal, with the Serie A side unable to match the Saudi Pro League club’s financial offer.