Craig Scott

Thu 2 June 2022 17:30, UK

Jesse Marsch will welcome Helder Costa back to Thorp Arch in the summer if the Leeds United winger hasn’t managed to find a new club before then, according to Graham Smyth.

Writing on the Yorkshire Evening Post website on 2 June, Smyth reports that after spending the 2021/22 season on loan at Valencia, the Spanish club won’t be signing the 28-year-old permanently and his agent Jorge Mendes will need to find him either another loan move or a permanent move this summer.

It is understood that Marsch is “open to the idea of Costa taking part in pre-season” if he hasn’t left Leeds before July.

Get rid

We cannot blame Marsch for wanting to take a look at Costa but ultimately, this is a player who should never have been signed for Leeds.

Victor Orta’s agreement with Wolves to include a mandatory permanent clause in Costa’s loan deal at Elland Road was a dumb move and it ended up costing the Whites millions for a player who was no good in the Championship.

Costa was obviously then nowhere near good enough in the Premier League in 2020/21 so was understandably loaned out to Valencia.

And, to the shock of no one, he struggled in Spain too.

Costa, clearly, isn’t cut out for top-flight football in a major footballing nation.

Valencia could have signed Costa permanently too.

Super Deportes reported on 15 December that the La Liga club would have had to pay £17million and match his £48,000-a-week wages in order to buy him from Leeds.

But after struggling to get regular game-time during his loan at the Mestalla, it’s clear why they didn’t take up that option to make the deal permanent.

Mendes’ work is cut out if he wants Costa to join another top club.

Leeds could struggle to offload him permanently due to his career going on a downwards trajectory.

Maybe another loan deal is on the cards for the ex-Wolves winger.

In other Leeds United news, the Whites have tabled a “huge” bid to secure another new signing for Marsch.