Leeds United are currently on course to secure automatic promotion straight back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, having been relegated from the top-flight at the end of last season.
The Whites brought in German head coach Daniel Farke last summer in an attempt to lead them to glory and they are second in the table with 13 games left to play.
They are above Ipswich Town on goal difference and two points ahead of Southampton, with all three sides on the same number of matches played, whilst Leicester City are nine points clear at the top.
Farke won the Championship title with Norwich City on two occasions and is now looking for a third promotion to the Premier League, with the help of the exciting squad he has available to him.
One player who has been particularly important to the club's success on the pitch this season has been terrific forward Crysencio Summerville.
The Dutch wizard has been a constant threat on the left wing and one of the top performers in his position in the division this term, alongside former Leeds starlet Jack Clarke.
When Leeds sold Jack Clarke
In the summer of 2019, then-sporting director Victor Orta decided to cash in on the talented young forward as Tottenham Hotspur swooped in to secure his services.
The Premier League side reportedly splashed out an initial fee of £8.5m to sign the teenage winger and sent him back on loan at Elland Road for the 2019/20 campaign.
Clarke had broken through into the first-team under Marcelo Bielsa during the previous season and made 24 appearances in the Championship, including the play-offs, before Spurs decided to move for him.
He produced two goals and two assists from the left flank in those 24 outings, although only four of those matches were as a starter, but his return on loan did not go as well.
The young gem made one Championship appearance for Leeds before Tottenham opted to send him out on loan to Queens Park Rangers for the second half of the campaign, in which time he played six times for the London-based side in the second tier.
Clarke failed to make the grade in the Premier League with Spurs during his time there and was eventually sold to Sunderland, after a six-month loan spell, in the summer of 2022.
Over the last two seasons, the 23-year-old wizard has been a constant threat to opposition defences in the Championship and has been an outstanding performer, which suggests that Orta fumbled Leeds' own homegrown version of Summerville back in 2019.
Crysencio Summerville's season in numbers
The former Feyenoord youngster, who arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2021, has emerged as the star of Farke's team in the second tier this season for Leeds.
He has been in phenomenal form as both a scorer and a creator of goals as a right-footed winger who predominantly plays on the left side of the attack.
Summerville has racked up 15 goals in 30 appearances in the division – four more than any of his teammates have managed – and only missed nine 'big chances', with an xG of 11.62.
This shows that the 22-year-old whiz has been ruthless in front of goal as he has rarely passed up a good opportunity to find the back of the net for the Whites.
The electric gem has also provided his fellow attackers with eight assists in those 30 Championship games, and only Georginio Rutter (11) has produced more assists within the Leeds squad.
Summerville may, however, argue that he should have more assists to his name. The exceptional dynamo has an xA of 9.33 and has created 16 'big chances', yet has only been rewarded with eight assists for his efforts.
Along with his quality as a scorer and a creator, the Dutch gem also has the ability in possession to get supporters off their seats with his dribbling, as he has completed 2.3 dribbles per game. He can get Elland Road rocking by committing defenders and driving the ball past players to push his team up the pitch.
Clarke is a player who offers similar qualities as another right-footed winger who plays on the left flank in the Championship, which is backed up by his impressive statistics for Sunderland this season.
Jack Clarke's season in numbers
The 23-year-old has been in exceptional form for the Black Cats throughout the 2023/24 campaign, despite their turbulence in the dugout so far.
They are on their third manager of the season in Mike Dodds, who is in interim charge for the second time after Michael Beale – who replaced Tony Mowbray – was sacked earlier this week.
Despite the seemingly constant change in the coaching staff, Clarke, who was once hailed as "unplayable" by journalist Josh Bunting, has fired in an outstanding 15 goals in 33 Championship matches for Sunderland.
He has only missed four 'big chances' and plundered those 15 goals from 10.25 xG, which suggests that the talented whiz has been more clinical than Summerville as they have the same number of goals but the Black Cats gem has managed it with fewer big chances missed and less xG.
Appearances
33
30
Goals
15
15
Big chances missed
Four
Nine
Assists
Four
Eight
Big chances created
11
16
xA
7.93
9.33
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, they have both been superb options for their respective sides as scorers and creators on a regular basis from the left wing.
Like the Leeds star, Clarke has been let down by his teammates in the final third as they have only rewarded him with four assists from an xA of 7.93, with 11 'big chances' created in total. This shows that they have not made the most of his creative quality this season.
However, the former Whites academy graduate did register 11 assists from seven 'big chances' created during the 2022/23 campaign, which could even it out somewhat.
What is clear, though, is that Summerville and Clarke are both mercurial stars who have taken the EFL by storm on the left wing with their immense attacking quality.
That is why Leeds, and Orta in particular, may look back on the decision to cash in on him when they did as a mistake as they could have developed their own homegrown version of the current first-team star by working with the former England U21 international to fulfill his potential in Yorkshire.






