Doubt remains over future of Leeds United winger amid Saudi and Turkish interest

Leeds United winger Helder Costa could be forced to play a waiting game over his next move after he failed to secure a move away from Elland Road.

As revealed by the YEP last week, Costa was the subject of interest from two clubs in Saudi Arabia ahead of Thursday night’s Pro-League transfer deadline - but no official offers were forthcoming and he has remained at Elland Road for the time being.

The 29-year-old is currently on international duty with Angola and was an unused substitute during their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar on Thursday. However, Costa could get a chance to add to his nine senior cups on Tuesday night when his side face Iran in a friendly.

The former Wolves is not seen as part of Daniel Farke’s plans and has already stated he sees no future for himself with the club after he spent the last two seasons on loan at Valencia and Saudi side Al-Ittihad.

Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed the winger was the subject of enquiries from clubs in Turkey in recent weeks - but now faces a major decision over his immediate future at Elland Road as his options continue to reduce.

He told GiveMeSport: “There hasn’t been that much interest in Costa. There had been a few Saudi enquiries, and also in Turkey. We need to wait and see what happens. There’s a possibility that he will leave for sure.

“On the Saudi side, he received an approach about three weeks ago from Al-Taawoun, and Al-Shabab, under their old board, had explored a deal. We’ve seen a couple of Turkish clubs also make enquiries too. So, I think Leeds’ preference would be to find a solution there. But we must wait and see what happens now because, at the end of August, nothing was particularly concrete or close to being done.

“Now, of course, from the position of a player, there are fewer options on the table. So, you will get some players, regardless of what the club thinks, that just prefer to sit it out until January or see whether they can change the manager’s mind between now and then because, in the new year, there may be more options available to them.”