West Ham to land timely injury boost as former Arne Slot transfer target to return vs Liverpool

West Ham United has reportedly been handed an injury boost ahead of Sunday’s game against Liverpool.

The Hammers have enjoyed a recent upturn in form following a sluggish start to the campaign, which resulted in Graham Potter’s dismissal in September. Nuno Espirito Santo has since brought stability, with West Ham unbeaten in its last three games.

Prior to Saturday’s draw against Bournemouth, the London club had beaten Newcastle United and Burnley, and climbed out of the relegation zone over the weekend. Crysencio Summerville has played a key role in West Ham’s improved fortunes, with the winger starting every game under Espirito Santo before the 2-2 draw at the Vitality last weekend.

The ex-Leeds man was forced to miss the encounter due to a calf strain, ending his run of eight consecutive Premier League starts.

But, according to the Standard, Summerville is expected to return to training this week and will most likely be an option for Sunday’s Premier League visit of Liverpool.

The 24-year-old’s return will be a major boost for the Hammers, with Summerville registering the club’s highest number of goal-creating actions this season.

The Dutchman is a player Arne Slot knows well from his time at Feyenoord. The now Liverpool head coach reportedly attempted to sign Summerville for the Eredivisie side in 2023, with Dutch outlet 1908 claiming Slot spoke to the attacker for over an hour on the phone in an effort to bring the Rotterdam native back to Feyenoord.

However, Summerville remained at Leeds and joined West Ham the following summer.

Elsewhere, Lucas Paqueta will also be available for the Liverpool encounter this weekend after he missed the draw against Bournemouth due to suspension.

West Ham remains without Lukasz Fabianski, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Oliver Scarles, while Niclas Fullkrug only returned from injury last week, and Callum Wilson’s minutes continue to be monitored.

As for Liverpool, it will still be without Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni. Florian Wirtz missed Liverpool training on Tuesday and remains a doubt for Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium.

Slot also revealed ahead of the midweek Champions League encounter against PSV Eindhoven that Joe Gomez has recently been struggling with discomfort in his knee.

Last season’s trip to West Ham was Gomez’s last Premier League start for Liverpool, but given the number of defensive injuries, he could be in line to feature against the Hammers.

Slot has enjoyed his previous meetings with West Ham, winning all three encounters as Liverpool boss, scoring 12 goals across those matches.

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