Wolves forward Costa set to join Leeds on season-long loan
TIM NASH JUNE 30, 2019 WOLVES BITE - BLOG 0 COMMENTS
Wolves are set to confirm the departure of Helder Costa to Leeds on a season-long loan.
The 25-year-old forward travelled to West Yorkshire today to complete the move to Elland Road and is expected to be unveiled by the Championship club tomorrow.
Costa said his farewells to his Wolves team-mates at their Compton training ground on Friday, and he bolsters Leeds’s squad with winger Jack Clarke set to sign for Tottenham for £8.5m.
Costa will be reunited with a familiar face at Leeds – left back Barry Douglas, who he played with at Wolves in the 2017-18 Championship title winning season.
Leeds will be looking to Costa to help them realise their promotion ambitions after finishing third in the Championship last season, knocked out of the play-off semi-finals by Derby, 4-3 on aggregate.
Costa is one of two players made available by head coach Nuno Espirito Santo this summer along with one-time fellow record signing Ivan Cavaleiro.
After being a regular in the first half of last season, the Portugal international became more of a peripheral figure at Molineux in the second half of the campaign and will hope for a fresh start at a level where he excelled at with Wolves.
His last start was in the FA Cup fourth round win against Shrewsbury but he hasn’t started a Premier League game since January 2, the 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, and his last appearance was on April 13, as a late substitute for Diogo Jota in the 3-1 loss at Southampton.
Wolves paid a then club record £13m to Monaco for Costa in January 2017 after a successful six-month loan spell in a season where he scored 12 goals in 40 games in all competitions.
Since then, the Angola-born player has added a further 80 appearances in league and cup, netting 10 times and he played his part as Nuno’s side swept to the Championship title, scoring five times in 36 appearances. He will be remembered for his dazzling skill and footwork, something he showed with aplomb for a memorable goal in a 3-1 home win against Cardiff in April 2017.
Cavaleiro is wanted by Fulham and Huddersfield, who were both relegated from the Premier League last season.
Nuno is keen to add a striker, a defender and a midfielder before the start of the Premier League season on August 11 at Leicester, but will again keep a small squad, despite the added number of games with the Europa League.
Wolves’ squad are now at FA training headquarters St Georges Park in Burton, returning on Friday, stepping up their pre-season preparations.
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