The Yorkshire Evening Post report that Nuno Espirito Santo wants a reunion with Leeds United winger Helder Costa at Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad – having worked with the Angola international at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Costa, 28, has returned to Elland Road this summer after a loan spell at Valencia. He struggled in La Liga, failing to score and laying on just two assists in 27 appearances. Bryan Gil’s loan from Spurs reduced his playing time.
The £46,000-a-week midfielder was left in Yorkshire for the club’s trip to Australia. But he was on the bench against Cagliari, albeit a bench made up of outcasts and youngsters – with Jesse Marsch not including any fringe players.
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Now, Costa could reunite with Santo. Marsch recently spoke about his future at Leeds, praising him for his work rate in training but underlining a move is likely. It is unclear how much Leeds want for a player they paid £16million to sign.
Nuno wants reunion with Leeds winger Costa at Al-Ittihad
At this point, a move to the Middle East might help both Leeds and Costa. A reunion with Nuno will obviously appeal to Costa after the ex-Wolves boss signed him permanently at Molineux in January 2017.
Costa himself would be earning a whole lot more cash than he might have expected should he move to the Middle East. Meanwhile, Leeds might get more than they thought they could have got.
Middle Eastern clubs are often renowned for paying over the odds to sign players – given their vast cash resources. The question is, does Costa want to leave European football when he could easily find a club in top-tier football?
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