Chelsea told how West Ham beat them to £25m Leeds United transfer this summer

West Ham managed to beat Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool to the signing of former Leeds United winger Crysencio Summerville this summer in what was a major transfer coup.

The 22-year-old plundered 21 goals and 10 assists across all competitions for the Yorkshire outfit last term and was named the Championship Player of the Season in the process. Premier League transfer interest over the summer was inevitable and it was West Ham who won that race, paying Leeds United £25 million for the player.

In a new report, The Athletic has looked further into that deal and explained how Julen Lopetegui convinced the winger to make the move to the London Stadium rather than Stamford Bridge or Anfield - where he would have had immediate European football.

How West Ham beat Chelsea and Liverpool to transfer

The outlet claims that Lopetegui worked with assistant first team coach John Heitinga and technical director Tim Steidten to pitch their vision of his career at West Ham to the player. Summerville was tempted by the prospect of West Ham playing in Europe again and was aware of the Europa Conference League success under David Moyes.

The winger was also filled in on how players such as Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez had grown and improved at West Ham, with a similar path in place for him.

Summerville has, so far, been used sparingly by Lopetegui. The forward has made seven Premier League appearances but only one start.

However, with Kudus having seen red against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Summerville will now be first choice on the left flank over the next three games. Those come against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton.

Summerville impressed by ‘straight talking’ Lopetegui

Speaking about his transfer in August, Summerville said: "I spoke to the Technical Director [Tim Steidten] and to the head coach, and I just felt very positive about this move.

"Lopetegui told me that he remembered me from when I played against him, and that he was an admirer of me. He said he wanted to work with me, and that he thought I could make a contribution to the team, which was obviously nice to hear.

"He also said that he thought he could help me with my development, which was good. He is a straight talker, which is something I really like, because it means I know what he expects of me. After speaking to him I was sure he was the right person to help take my career to the next level."