Jose Bordalas is reluctant to field Helder Costa amid question marks over the Leeds United loanee’s tactical understanding, despite Valencia enduring an injury crisis, according to AS.
Costa sealed a Deadline Day move away from Elland Road a month ago after falling down Marcelo Bielsa’s pecking order. The Portuguese started just 13 of his 22 Premier League appearances last season, and faced a greater fight for minutes after Dan James’ arrival.
A move to the Mestalla Stadium is not paying dividends for the 27-year-old yet, however. Bordalas has only awarded Costa a mere 11-minutes of La Liga football from four possible games so far. He has also remained on the bench as an unused substitute in their last two.
Bordalas has continued to overlook Costa as the Valencia boss does not believe the Leeds loanee understands his tactics. The Murcielagos manager also questions if he can extract what he demands from his players from the £32k-a-week forward.
Costa has additionally proven to be lacking physically compared to his rivals for minutes on Spain’s south-eastern coast. So, despite Bordalas being without Denis Cheryshev through injury, Costa remains on the bench, with centre-forward Hugo Duro preferred instead.
Costa has impressed those who see him train each day with his prodigious left-foot and his potential in wide positions. But Bordalas believes Leeds’ £16m signing from Wolves has a long way to go before understanding Valencia’s system.
Leeds will want Costa to turn Valencia stay around
Leeds will want to see Costa start to turn his Valencia stay around for the La Liga outfit to potential purchase him next year. The Whites confirmed on his temporary exit that they agreed to include an option to buy in Los Murcielagos’ deal.
Even if they do not purchase the one-cap international, Bielsa will want the Portuguese to show he deserves another chance. Which, with just 11-minutes on his Valencia record, Costa has so far failed to show Leeds.
Those 11-minutes against Real Madrid were far from ideal, either, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side scoring twice in that period. Turning the game around in the 86th and 88th-minutes to win after trailing following Duro’s 66th-minute strike.
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