A handful of Leeds United players have found out this month if they will be offered a new contract or not, but one player that was released at the start of the season is only just finding himself a new club.
The likes of Charlie Allen, Ian Poveda, Lew Bate and Dani van den Heuvel are all set to be released by the club this month and become free agents. They will be left to find themselves a new side in due course.
Poveda should find no such difficulty in doing so, with the likes of West Brom, Luton and Cardiff all after the Colombia international’s signature. But it can be difficult to get back on the wagon after a release.
Just ask Helder Costa, who was released at the beginning of 2023-24 in October having turned up for pre-season. Daniel Farke made it clear that Costa would be leaving even while he was still contracted.
It comes after Costa initially joined Leeds on loan from Wolves in Marcelo Bielsa’s second summer at the club. The Angola star helped Leeds get promoted in 2019-20, with Bielsa once saying he has “quality”.
Helder Costa could be about to join new side after Leeds exit
The former Benfica, Monaco and Deportivo star signed permanently at Elland Road for £16m following the club’s promotion to the Premier League, but he drifted out of the side during the 2020-21 season.
It saw him go on loan to Valencia for a season, and then to the Middle East with Al-Ittihad. He helped win the Saudi Pro League under the guidance of former Tottenham and Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Returning to Leeds last summer, it took a couple of months before Leeds and Costa finally agreed to mutually terminate his contract. Now, Portuguese outlet Record say he finally has an offer on the table.
Offer from Portuguese side but Costa biding his time first
Record claim that Vitoria Guimaraes have offered Costa a route back into football, nine months after his Leeds release and more than eight years after the skilful winger last played in Portuguese football.
Vitoria enjoyed a successful 2023-24 season which saw them finish in fifth place in Liga NOS, qualifying for the Europa Conference League qualifiers. It means Costa could be playing in Europe next season.
But the report also states that Costa is awaiting offers from other clubs in Europe’s big leagues before making the decision to go back to Portugal. It looks as though, however, that he will be joining Vitoria.