West Ham can land instant Summerville competition with 25m signing

West Ham United have been the busiest Premier League side this summer, making eight signings already, spending a total of €144.40m (£123m), and it doesn’t seem like they are done quite yet.

Despite huge investment, the Hammers suffered an opening day defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, with striker target, Jhon Duran, scoring the winner.

The Hammers will want to put that loss behind them quickly, moving onto a London derby against Crystal Palace this weekend, before facing Manchester City the following week.

West Ham transfer news

As reported earlier this week, West Ham are keeping an eye on Sunderland winger, Jack Clarke. Crystal Palace and Wolves have also been mentioned previously, but it seems the latest reports have West Ham and Southampton as the two potential suitors.

The 23-year-old is mainly deployed from the left hand side, however has shown in the past he can play through the middle, playing once as an attacking midfielder, and once as a centre-forward for Sunderland last season.

Clarke – who has been touted at around £25m – made 42 appearances for Sunderland last season in all competitions, scoring 15 goals, providing four assists, and totalling 3,623 minutes played.

Clarke vs Summerville comparison

Of course, West Ham have already dipped into the Championship market this summer, picking up Championship Player of the Year, Crysencio Summerville from Leeds United. The 22-year-old made 49 appearances for Leeds last season, scoring 21 goals and providing ten assists.

But with West Ham’s recent ambition, there is a possibility they could acquire Clarke, to provide instant competition to Summerville for that left-wing spot, as both players excel in different ways.

Clarke was described as “insane” by analyst Ben Mattinson, waxing lyrical about the 23-year-old’s ability as a ball carrier, playmaker, and direct threat. This is backed up by his exceptional progressive carrying numbers, averaging 7.89 per 90 during the 2023/24 campaign.

His one-versus-one ability is a huge factor for his success, combining his brilliant carrying numbers with the ability to beat his man, averaging 3.81 successful take-ons per 90. This allows Clarke to access dangerous areas of the pitch through his own progression, even averaging 4.54 carries into the penalty area per 90, compared to Summerville’s 2.57.

One area that Summerville comes out on top though, and something Clarke has to improve upon, is their output. Summerville, averaging higher goal and assist numbers per 90, has delivered output at a more consistent rate. However, this could also be down to the quality of teammates.

Having the pair of left-wingers on the books could provide West Ham with solid competition for that side of the pitch, with Clarke’s ability to drive the team forward with his carrying qualities, and Summerville’s more consistent output adding extra goals and assists to the side.