Leeds United have drawn a line under their summer transfer window with the loan exit of Helder Costa.
The 27-year-old has agreed on a deal to move to Spain with Valencia in La Liga for the season after the earlier arrival of Daniel James at Elland Road.
The Spanish side will have the option to buy Costa outright at the end of the loan period next summer.
Three years remain on the contract Costa first agreed to in the summer of 2019 when he joined United from Wolverhampton Wanderers on an initial loan.
After that campaign, which saw the Whites promoted, Costa’s loan became a permanent switch from Wolves, but his impact in the Premier League was inconsistent last term.
After starting the first eight league games last season, little was seen of Costa after his half-time hooking at Crystal Palace in November.
From then until the end of the season, Costa would make just five more league starts, though he rarely made an impression in the games he did appear in.
The interest from Valencia and further afield has reportedly been there for much of the summer, but Leeds only looked seriously at the move once James came into view.
The £25m acquisition of the Wales winger will put even further strain on Costa’s game time, so he took the opportunity to get away.
