Forgotten Leeds United winger Helder Costa has in important role for Saudi Arabian title hopefuls Al-Ittihad but his future at the club remains unclear. Costa last pulled on a Leeds United shirt in a 3-0 win over Crewe Alexandra in the Carabao Cup first round in August 2021.
The 29-year-old featured heavily in Marcelo Bielsa's Championship title winning team, playing 43 of the 46 league games that season, and during his time at Leeds as a whole, made 71 appearances, scoring eight goals and assisting 11. However, he's since struggled for game time and is in the midst of a second season-long loan spell away from Elland Road.
A loan spell at Valencia ended in disappointment last season, before linking up with his old Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo at Al-Ittihad for a season-long loan.
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"Following a slow start to the season, Helder Costa has become an important member of an Al-Ittihad team, that currently leads the way in the Saudi Pro League title race," Martin Lowe, Asian football writer for the Asian Game said. "He operates mainly on the right side of an attacking midfield three behind the central striker but has often been utilised in a number of positions in the final third of the pitch.
"His role within the team, is supportive more than impactful; Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah and Brazilian flyer Romarinho shoulder the key responsibility in terms of attacking output, while much of the creation comes from deep and the set plays of Ivan Coronado. Costa, fits in with the style of play, but in a peripheral sense, useful instead for his high energy, pressing and defensive covering.
"Since his arrival, Nuno Espirito Santo has honed a defensively solid team; clearly their hallmark in the title race, having only conceded seven goals in 21 matches so far this season. They are set up solidly, to be a threat on the counter; in which Helder Costa is a suitable player in supporting both aims.
"As mentioned before, he’s been on the periphery of the attack, however when he did score, it was a beauty. All-in-all, a good player to have within the team, but not one of the standout players by any means."
Leeds were hopeful of selling Costa at the end of his loan spell in La Liga. But Valencia turned down the option to buy the winger and he returned to Elland Road last summer.
"Much will depend on whether Nuno Espirito Santo remains as coach following this campaign," Lowe said when asked about the move to Saudi Arabia being made a permanent one. "The Saudi Pro League has a foreign player quota in place; which currently allows registration of a maximum of 8 players, while the AFC Champions League, which Ittihad will aim to qualify for, has a limit of 5 foreign players.
"Helder Costa is one of those players on the bubble, who’s slot may be considered in need of improvement, especially given the recent focus on bringing quality names into the league; akin to Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Santo has established a method that is working, so there’s a very real question, of why fix something that’s not broken?"
Both Costa and Espirito-Santo have been quiet in regards to talk over a permanent move. Lowe said: "I can’t find any interviews or quotes from Costa since his move to Saudi Arabia, while Nuno’s quotes have been quite generic about the team rather than the players.
"The sort of detail, regarding player transfers rarely gets discussed in the press; as the coach will likely be quite separate from the club hierarchy in terms of buying and selling of players."
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