Daniel Farke and 49ers stuck with Helder Costa at Leeds United after Andrea Radrizzani mistake
Throughout the summer, Leeds United were constantly raided by clubs looking to poach their relegated stars following Andrea Radrizzani’s decision to put relegation release clauses in player’s contracts.
That saw the likes of Tyler Adams, Robin Koch, Marc Roca and many others head for the Elland Road exit door, both on temporary deals and even some permanent transfers as Daniel Farke was left with a threadbare squad to build upon.
However, quickly the feeling became more positive as the German boss made some excellent additions to his squad without breaking the bank. But now, Helder Costa is stuck at Elland Road with seemingly no way out of Yorkshire currently.
Farke revealed on Thursday as reported by Phil Hay (28 September) that there had been no change in the Angolan winger’s situation as he wants to leave and it is now down to the player and the club to decide what happens next.
The only way out for both parties is seemingly agreeing to some sort of settlement that will allow the 29-year-old to terminate his contract with Leeds, making him a free agent and able to join any club, even though the transfer window is currently shut.
But that will require the Whites to pay a fee, typically the remainder of a player’s contract which for Costa runs until the end of the current season. Whether or not they opt to keep him at the club, they will have to pay his wages for the foreseeable future.
This represents a messy end to what has been a completely messy transfer and the blame has to lie with Radrizzani in what is the latest in a series of errors from the former Leeds United owner.
Costa has been barely effective since he made the permanent switch to Elland Road following what was a reasonably impressive initial loan spell under Marcelo Bielsa. Following the Whites’ 2020 promotion to the Premier League, they spent £16 million [talkSport, 7 July 2020] to sign the winger on a four-year contract.
In return, they have seen Costa make 48 Premier League appearances where he has only managed nine goal involvements, while being sent out on loan to both Valencia and Al-Ittihad without truly impressing.
Radrizzani’s decision to make the signing permanent back in 2020 has proven to be completely pointless and a waste of money, to such an extreme that Farke and his team are unable to find anyone willing to take the 29-year-old off of their hands.
Although he’s long gone and the 49ers have impressed with their initial work, the mistakes made by Radirzzani are still haunting Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, despite spending £2 million on defenders this summer, Farke has not yet been able to use most of his new options