Jesse Marsch sends strong message to Leeds United player regarding attitude and professionalism

Summerville celebrated his 21st birthday last Sunday, the day after his 89th minute goal at Anfield proved to be the winner for Leeds, subsequently ending their eight-match run without victory. A Dutch Under-21 international, Summerville has predominantly featured for United’s junior side since arriving from Feyenoord in 2020, but now appears to be forcing his way into the first-team setup at Elland Road.

Head coach Marsch has challenged the former Under-17 European Championships winner to maintain his current level of performance by going on record to suggest the youngster’s application hasn’t always been exemplary. Despite last Saturday’s match-winning contribution, which followed his first Premier League goal a week earlier, Marsch took the opportunity to discuss Summerville’s mental development during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon.

After admitting that in the early stages of his tenure as Leeds boss, he had considered increasing the Dutchman’s first-team involvement, if not for an ankle injury which ruled him out until the end of last season, Marsch went on to discuss Summerville’s attentiveness off the pitch.

"A big factor for him is discipline and professionalism and work ethic. I've been on top of him again this week to make sure that he has a very good training week and he has, he's looked really good. And we're hopeful that he can establish himself more and more,” Marsch said at Thorp Arch on Thursday.

It is not the first instance in which, unprompted, the American has offered insight into Summerville’s development as a person, as well as a player. Previously, Marsch has spoken of the young winger’s character and application on the training pitch, in a manner unlike his declarations concerning other players.

On Thursday, the head coach went into further detail about what his No. 10 must continue to work on, to demonstrate progress and earn his place in the first-team, as he has done with performances in recent weeks.

"It was a little bit of everything [that needed improving]: making sure that he was getting here early enough, making sure that he was putting work in in the gym, that he was preparing for training the right way, that he was paying attention to video, that he was applying the lessons that we wanted to learn in training every day.

"He loves the match, right? But it was more about like helping him understand what the entire process of being a top professional is and making sure that he's committed to it all the way,” Marsch added.

The American, whose own birthday falls the day before Leeds travel to Molineux to play Wolves in the Carabao Cup next week, hopes deadline day signing Willy Gnonto can be a positive influence on Summerville, despite the Italy international being three years younger than the ex-Feyenoord forward.

"Willy [Gnonto], I think, is in the same vein, except that his professionalism and work ethic and clarity for what this world is, is incredibly good. He's very mature for an 18 year old. And it's interesting because Cree [Summerville] and Willy have sparked up a really good friendship.

"I think Willy's had a real positive effect on Cree and I think that those two together can be part of the core of young players, or can be the core of the young players that can kind of push us forward and continue to help all the young, talented, specifically attacking players,” Marsch said.

Gnonto’s first-team and international experience supersedes Summerville, despite his younger years, however it is the Dutchman who is in line to retain his place in Leeds’ starting XI this weekend at home to AFC Bournemouth.

Marsch’s comments can be dissected to reveal a thinly-veiled challenge to his budding young attacking line, too: “For me, whether you're young or old, it's all about what you're establishing and exhibiting on the training pitch.

"His potential is very high,” Marsch said, describing man of the moment Summerville. “I think he can be a big part of unbalancing the opponent by scoring goals, by setting plays up, by being good in transition and certainly being good in pressing.

"We just need to keep pushing him every day in terms of his mentality of being a pro and then the technical and tactical aspects of what we're trying to achieve.

"I told him in front of the group that I'm watching him now and I'm going to stay on top of him even more, and we have to make sure that there's no slipping back and that we're only going forward from here,” Marsch finished.

Summerville will no doubt be delighted with his recent contributions, finally breaking the glass ceiling of Under-21 football, but Marsch’s words are clear: he must continue in the same vein, crucially on and off the pitch, to remain in the American’s thoughts after the World Cup break when fellow attacker Luis Sinisterra returns from a foot injury.