Leeds United preference made clear as Farke outcast is subject to European ‘enquiries’

Leeds United are trying to sell Helder Costa before the Turkish transfer window shuts later this month according to the latest reports.

Daniel Farke has done well to navigate a difficult summer transfer window for Leeds this summer. While the English transfer window has closed, clubs from Turkey are still able to sign players.

This could come in handy for Leeds as they are desperately searching for a solution for Costa. The Portuguese winger seems surplus to requirements under Farke and he is of no use sitting on the sidelines.

Costa has spent the last two seasons out on loan and as his contract with Leeds expires in 2024, this is the last real chance they will get to cash in on him.

In January the winger will be able to discuss a pre-contract agreement with a foreign side and so Leeds will likely see this as their last chance to sell.

The winger originally joined Leeds on loan from Wolves in 2019-20 and the move was then made permanent the following year for a fee of around £15m.

Costa never quite found his feet for Leeds in the Premier League and the club have tried to offload him in previous transfer windows.

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Leeds preference made clear

Costa had drawn some interest from clubs in Saudi, but their transfer window closed earlier this week. The winger has also been subject to enquiries from Turkey according to reports.

Ben Jacobs has outlined the current state of play regarding the 29-year-old and why a move to Turkey will now be the preference that Leeds are pushing for.

“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,” Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT.

“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.”

The Turkish transfer window closes on September 15 so Leeds still have a bit of wriggle room to negotiate a deal. Time will tell if Leeds manage to offload him before the deadline.

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