‘Absolutely’ – Phil Hay claims £32k/wk ace in battle to save Leeds career & could be sold
Athletic journalist Phil Hay believes that Helder Costa is facing a real battle to save his career at Leeds United.
The winger has fallen behind Raphinha in the pecking order, with Ian Poveda preferred as an impact sub.
Costa was dropped from the squad that beat Newcastle 5-2 but was back on the bench against Man United without getting on the pitch.
Talking on the latest episode of the Phil Hay Show podcast Hay was asked if he could see Costa being sold in the summer.
“If he’s not playing much, then absolutely,” said Hay.
“At £15m, Costa isn’t featuring much and if he isn’t getting involved there will come a point where you have to think about that.
“The best teams refresh constantly, not en masse because if you do that you’re breaking everything up, but little additions here and there like Jota at Liverpool.
“It’s possible and I think for Costa there’s a battle to get back involved, especially as Bielsa has such a high opinion of Poveda, albeit as an impact sub.
“When you fall behind someone like Raphinha it becomes difficult because I don’t see him leaving a lot of chinks of light to get back into that side. He looks consistent and very, very good.
“It will be a battle for Costa to get a game.”
Tough times for Costa
Costa had a decent start to the season and put in what we thought might be a season-defining performance against Fulham.
However, since then it’s all gone downhill, with ever-decreasing returns leading to the winger getting dropped.
The final straw for Bielsa came against West Ham. He was brought on at half-time with Jack Harrison playing poorly.
However, Costa was worse and gave away a needless free-kick that led to the Hammers winner.
He was dropped from the squad after that game and played in the Under-23s.
Raphinha, meanwhile, is looking undroppable and is the sort of player who can deliver at this level week-in, week-out.
Costa scored for the Under-23s on Monday but it’s hard to see him getting a regular starting role going forward.
Given that, combined with his value and his wages – reported to be £32.5k-a-week – you have to think that a summer sale is a very big possibility.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Superb’, ‘Looks ready now’ – These Leeds fans react as Phil Hay posts footage of U23 star