Ian Poveda and Helder Costa are facing an uncertain few weeks at Leeds United as the summer transfer window approaches its climax. Both Poveda and Costa are down the pecking order and the Whites are thought to be keen on offloading the pair this month as Jesse Marsch’s first-team squad for the 2022-23 campaign continues to take shape.
Neither player travelled with the Whites on their pre-season tour of Australia with Marsch making the decision to leave them to train at Thorp Arch. They weren’t the only two not picked for the trip, with the likes of Jamie Shackleton, who has since joined Millwall on loan, and Lewis Bate staying at home, too, but their omissions appeared to tell supporters all they needed to know about the respective standings of Costa and Poveda at Elland Road.
As a result, it came as quite a surprise to see both men named on the bench for Sunday’s clash with Cagliari, but Marsch never looked their way, preferring to give his starting XI a full 90 minute run-out before the Premier League gets underway this weekend. That decision ensured that neither Costa nor Poveda saw a minute of pre-season action this summer.
