Leeds United’s summer transfer window was a rousing success, and Victor Orta deserves all sorts of credit for building a squad that is capable of competing in the Premier League at Elland Road.
The likes of Rodrigo, Illan Meslier and Robin Koch have proven to be solid additions, but nobody has been more influential since joining the club than Raphinha.
The Brazilian has earnt all sorts of praise this term, and he’s even been linked to some massive clubs just a few months after joining Leeds.
It’s hard to believe the Whites landed him for just £17m after watching him play this season.
However, what’s even more unbelievable is the fact that Leeds could be lining up an even bigger bargain signing this summer.
Indeed, CalcioMercato report that Leeds could land Douglas Costa this summer for a bargain fee of €11m (£9.5m), and that would be daylight robbery.
It’s hard to imagine Leeds getting a better deal than they got for Raphinha, but this could well be just that.
Just look at Costa’s CV, he’s won five league titles in two of Europe’s top leagues, he’s played for Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 31 caps for Brazil, the same nation Raphinha hasn’t been capped for yet.
Of course, he’s 30 years old, so he may not have the resale value Raphinha now has, but you can’t doubt the quality of a man who once got 18 assists in a single season for Bayern Munich.
Signing a player of this pedigree would usually cost you an arm and a leg, but Leeds may be able to land him for less than they paid to sign a player like Helder Costa who’d only ever really proven himself in the Championship, whereas the Bayern Munich ace has played Champions League football for the last decade.
This could be one of the biggest bargains Victor Orta ever lands for Leeds.
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