Summerville handed unusual squad number 38 as Al Hilal confirm four-year deal

Crysencio Summerville will wear the unusual squad number 38 at Al Hilal after the Saudi Pro League club confirmed the Dutch winger’s arrival on a four-year contract from West Ham United.

Al Hilal announced on Friday that Summerville had signed a deal running until 2030, completing his move from the Premier League side to join the Riyadh giants.

According to Al Hilal’s official online store, the 24-year-old has been allocated the No 38 shirt for the coming season – a number he has not worn for almost four years and one that is rarely given to an established first-team signing at the club.

At Al Hilal, numbers above 30 are typically reserved for players promoted from the youth ranks into the senior squad, which makes the decision to hand Summerville 38 notable and somewhat unexpected.

Previous use of 38 at Leeds

The only time Summerville has previously worn the No 38 shirt was during his spell at Leeds United.

He first took the number at the end of the 2020-21 season while playing for Leeds’ Under-23 side, and kept it into the following campaign after being promoted to the first team.

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the winger switched to the prestigious No 10 shirt at Leeds United, underlining his growing importance at Elland Road.

His status was further reflected when he later moved to West Ham United, where he was handed the No 7 shirt and wore it over the past two seasons in the Premier League.

Blocked from favoured numbers at Al Hilal

Summerville will not be able to continue with either of those shirt numbers immediately at Al Hilal.

The No 10 shirt is currently held by Brazilian winger Malcom, while Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez wears No 7 for the club, leaving Summerville without access to the numbers he has used most recently in his career.

Those circumstances have led to Al Hilal assigning him 38, pending any further changes to the squad.

Future switch expected amid possible departures

Summerville is expected to move to either the No 10 or No 7 shirt in future, should one or both of those numbers become available.

That possibility has gained traction amid reports that Al Hilal are open to parting company with Malcom and Darwin Nunez, which could free up the shirts Summerville previously wore at Leeds United and West Ham United.

For now, however, the Netherlands winger begins his Al Hilal career with the less conventional No 38 on his back, in a move that underlines both the current make-up of the Riyadh club’s attacking options and the uncertainty over the futures of two of their high-profile forwards.