Helder Costa will cost Leeds United a reported £15 million.
Leeds United fans were understandably over the moon when they signed Helder Costa on loan last summer.
After all, this was a player who had helped Wolverhampton Wanderers to Premier League promotion a year earlier and signing the Portuguese winger was quite a coup – on paper, anyway.
Costa hasn’t really delivered at Leeds so far though, scoring three goals in 26 Championship appearances.
Thing is, the Whites are reportedly contractually obliged to spend £15 million on the 25-year-old this summer [The Daily Mail] and there’s no denying that he needs to get a lot better.
Leeds have only spent more than that on two players in their entire history – Robbie Keane and Rio Ferdinand.
So if United are going to spend £4 million more on Costa what they spent on Robbie Fowler, three goals and two assists just won’t cut it.
Remember, this is the Championship too, a division that Marcelo Bielsa’s side probably won’t be in next season.
If Leeds do win Premier League promotion then with it could come a nine-figure windfall.
They could easily afford to pay that £15 million for Costa, but if he doesn’t improve in a big way between now and May then Andrea Radrizzani will be sick over having to shell out that amount on a player who hasn’t done all that much.
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