Pundit Paul Robinson has claimed that Helder Costa is not good enough to get into the current Leeds United squad.
Costa has spent this season on loan with Valencia where he has made 19 appearances in La Liga, but he has failed to score and has got just one assist to his name. The winger signed for Leeds on a permanent deal in 2020 and his contract is not set to expire until 2024.
The Angola international played a crucial role in Leeds’ triumph from the Championship in the 2019/20 campaign, featuring 43 times under Marcelo Bielsa in the league, whilst scoring four times and making six assists.
With Costa’s contract not set to expire anytime soon, Robinson spoke to MOT Leeds News and said that he doesn’t see him getting into Jesse Marsch’s side amid his return to Leeds at the end of the season.
He said: “Whether he’s a player who Jesse brings in and looks at in pre-season, it depends upon what formation he wants to play and what he wants going forward.
“But if you look at the current squad, he’s not deemed good enough or strong enough to go into that, you’ve got to question where he’d go if he was brought back into the squad. I don’t think they’re going to get anywhere near the money they paid for him because of the last one or two seasons he’s had.
“He was poor last year and he went out of the side, and he’s gone out on loan and hasn’t really done anything this year.
“They’ll struggle to get any kind of money back for him, so it might be the case where he starts the pre-season with Leeds and they assess the situation from there.
“He wouldn’t get back in the team.”
TIF Thoughts on Paul Robinson’s comments…
Costa has a current market value of £7.2m, as per Transfermarkt. He has struggled this season with Valencia after he has made just 11 starts in La Liga. He has created just one big chance in 19 league appearances, has a successful dribble rate per game of just 41% and has an average player rating of 6.49 this term, as per SofaScore.
Although Leeds have struggled with injuries this season, it is hard to see how Marsch will implement Costa into his side next season after his poor form this year, and he may opt to cut his losses by selling the winger in the summer.