It’s not often a gif of a steaming coffee cup elicits so much excitement from ‘Football Twitter’. But, when Leeds United announced the signing of their new £17 million winger in the summer of 2019, the excitement in the West Yorkshire air was palpable.
Leeds, after all, had narrowly missed out on promotion back to the Premier League just a couple of weeks earlier; falling at the penultimate hurdle during Marcelo Bielsa’s debut season at Elland Road. Helder Costa, a Championship winner with Wolverhampton Wanderers, was supposed to be the final piece in Bielsa’s jigsaw.
In some ways, Costa lived up to his end of the bargain. Leeds ended 2019/20 as champions of England’s second tier; the one-time Portugal international featuring 43 times in all competitions. But it was difficult to escape the feeling that Costa’s time at Elland Road that been, well, underwhelming.
The performances that made Costa such a hit at Molineux were few and far between at Leeds. The one-time Benfica forward appeared to be straying dangerously close to ‘scapegoat’ territory too, before embarking upon that ill-fated spell at Valencia some 18 months ago.
Will Helder Costa and Nuno Espirito Santo be reunited at Leeds?
Now at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia – farmed out on loan once again in the summer – the chances of Costa returning to Elland Road and kick-starting his Leeds career look slim. But ‘improbable’ and ‘impossible’ are two very different things.
“Helder was immense,” Costa’s former Wolves coach Nuno Espirito Santo told Leeds Live back in 2020. “He had a huge impact on (my) team. He’s a very talented player.
“It will be a pleasure to see Helder again. I have a bond with him that will last forever. It gave me enormous pleasure, working with him. Fantastic player.”
Costa played the best football of his career under the Portuguese tactician. It’s no coincidence that, when Leeds opened themselves up to offers again, Nuno’s Al-Ittihad side quickly came calling.
Reports from The Athletic suggesting that Nuno is now ‘under discussion’ at Elland Road – and would be tempted by another stab at the Premier League – could lead to some rather intriguing conversations about Helder Costa’s own future.
If there is only one coach in world football who may be willing to hand Helder Costa a clean slate, it’s a man who has signed him twice before.
“New projects must be built with good players,” Nuno said shortly after taking over at Wolves. “Costa is a good player.
“The club has its ideas and knows how well it performed last year. I believe that new things must be built around good players.”
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