£19.4m wasted: Leeds have been bled dry by “expensive” flop who’s cost £2.4m per goal – opinion

The fans of Leeds United, who had to watch their team slowly deteriorate under the stupid ownership of Andrea Radrizzani, were not overly shocked by the club’s current situation.

It is now the 49ers’ responsibility to lead the Whites into a better future in light of the challenges left by the previous ownership. Their leadership has been largely successful thus far.

The right choice was made in appointing Daniel Farke, and the majority of his signings seem to be safe bets that will benefit the squad. They are still clinging to some of the inefficient officials from the prior administration, though, which exposes a minor oversight on their part.

The hiring of Marcelo Bielsa was undoubtedly a stroke of luck, but it would ultimately spell the end of their dominance at Elland Road, as the Argentine’s eventual firing sparked a disastrous chain of events that has them currently competing in the Championship.

It was a bad idea to hire Jesse Marsch, and it was even worse to leave him in control for so long. It was also embarrassing to see how desperate they were towards the end of the previous campaign to find a manager to bail them out of the disaster they had made. Both Sam Allardyce and Javi Gracia would sell out in the summer because they couldn’t accomplish such a goal.

Who should Leeds United have sold over summer?

No fewer than 15 senior players left the team at the earliest available chance, despite the fact that the team from last season was primarily to blame for their relegation.

Even so, it wasn’t entirely disastrous because their continuing existence might have caused the club to become bankrupt if they hadn’t been promoted at the first opportunity.

Furthermore, most had demonstrated that they lacked the necessary skill set to contribute to a football team of this magnitude, therefore their departure was welcomed. Although Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen won’t be missed, Junior Firpo and Helder Costa managed to survive the culling.

Given how out of favor the Angolan winger has become at Elland Road, keeping the latter in particular is a dubious choice.

Although the 29-year-old had a strong first loan season and may have been deserving of the permanent move, it soon became apparent that he lacked the consistency necessary to adapt to Bielsa’s demanding play style. The next year, with his form under scrutiny, his average rating dropped from 6.76 in the Championship to 6.46 in the Premier League, according to Sofascore.

In 2020, according to pundit Keith Andrews (Sky Sports Main Event, 8/2/20 7:55 PM): “You look at a player like Helder Costa and he’s a shadow of what we saw when he got promoted in a Wolverhampton Wanderers shirt, and I don’t know what’s happened there,” said the player.

Then, a year later, ex-premier league goalkeeper Paul Robinson would summarize one dreadful performance to compile such misery: “He lost his position in the Premier League team and here was his time to show Bielsa that he deserves another shot. Leeds, as a team, I thought did a poor job overall. Helder Costa was utterly off the mark.

He surely disappointed considering he was “Leeds’ second most expensive signing” in 2019, according to journalist Phil Hay.

He was consequently loaned out to Valencia and then Al-Ittihad Club in Saudi Arabia, where he has been unable to revive his flagging career. Despite all of this, Costa somehow manages to keep robbing Elland Road of money while no longer providing anything to the team.

How much did Leeds United sign Helder Costa for?

The former Benfica trickster was hired by Bielsa to help Wolverhampton Wanderers repeat a trick that helped them gain promotion from the Championship.

What is Helder Costa’s salary at Leeds United?

It is difficult to estimate how much Costa has collected in pay from the Yorkshire club over the course of his four years there, but one of those was only on loan and two more really saw him shipped out on loan.

Although he has only really spent two full years draining the club, his base salary is £32.5k per week.

Given his duration and apparent refusal to leave, such a number has added up to an additional £3.4 million that Costa has cost Leeds, making Bielsa’s purchase quite a costly failure. When the initial fee and the salary paid are added up, the uninspiring dud has made a total profit of £19.4m.

Does Helder Costa deserve to earn £32.5k-per-week?

The 5 foot 10 flop doesn’t deserve to make anything close to what he does now, and now that they’ve been demoted, his salary is even more significant.

The majority of those aforementioned summer departures were probably had to comply with the stringent rules that the Championship places on its teams, adding to the already tight financial situation at Elland Road.

Since then, he has made 71 appearances for the Whites, making just eight goals and providing 11 assists, which portrays a dismal picture of an attacker who spends £2.4 million for each goal he scored.

When does Helder Costa’s contract expire?

Fortunately for Farke, Costa’s contract is about to expire, so they will have to wait until the summer of 2024 to genuinely get rid of him.

All indications point to him leaving for free in the future, and given that they won’t get paid for their wily winger, it appears like all the financial shortcomings around the move will be highlighted.

How much has Helder Costa earned in his career?

However, it shouldn’t be shocking to watch Costa struggle given that his career hasn’t developed as anticipated after a promising beginning in Portugal.

The nine-cap international’s career goal total is just 52, despite his quick feet and bursts of pace frequently pretending to deceive.

The ex-Wolves great has accrued a total career earning of £9.94m, so he cannot be criticised for the financial motivation his time playing football has provided him. A man with a tantalizing figure who Farke probably can’t wait to get off his books