Wolverhampton Wanderers have developed a successful transfer strategy over the years.
Their recruitment is almost always spot on, while they have also developed a habit of selling players for more than they’re worth.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a former player that Wolves played a blinder with by letting him go.
Helder Costa’s time at Wolves
In 2017, Helder Costa joined the Wanderers for £13m, becoming the club's record signing at the time, just six months after joining the club on loan.
Prior to the permanent deal in January, Costa starred in the Championship for Wolves, netting nine times and picking up seven assists across all competitions. The winger ended the campaign with ten goals and eight assists in 30 league starts.
The attacker would go on to play fewer games during Wolves’ promotion campaign, and in his first season in the Premier League, he scored once and created two goals in 25 matches, with Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, and Diogo Jota mainly taking up the attacking roles.
Helder Costa’s career after Wolves
In the 2019/20 season, Costa joined Leeds United on loan from Wolves for the season, where he helped the team earn promotion to the Premier League.
The Angolan winger played an important role, featuring in 43 games over the season. During that time, he scored four goals and registered four assists, but he performed well enough for the Peacocks to splash out £16m for his signature when the loan expired.
But once again, he featured much less in the top flight, starting just 13 games, with the signature of Raphinha decreasing his minutes.
Monaco
28
5
3
Wolves
109
19
19
Leeds
71
8
11
Valencia
27
0
2
Al Ittihad
20
3
1
Fast forward another year, and he was once again sent on loan, this time joining Valencia in Spain, where he played 22 times in La Liga but failed to score. At the end of his spell in Spain, his estimated market value had decreased to just over £4m.
Last season, the 5 foot 10 attacker joined Al-Ittihad on loan from Leeds, in what would be his most recent and potentially final adventure in his footballing career. Over 18 games in the Saudi Pro League, Costa scored three goals.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Fast forward to today, and Costa is without a club after Leeds and the player agreed to part ways in the summer. Although he could have been playing this month for his nation in the Africa Cup of Nations, despite playing heavily in the qualifiers, he turned down the offer.
Selling Costa for £16m to Leeds was an absolute masterclass by Wolves, who would have definitely lost plenty of funds on the attacker if he had stayed at the club any longer, just like Leeds have.
The former Benfica wonderkid is now worth £2.4m, and although he’s only 30 years old, his career could unfortunately be cut short if another club doesn’t come knocking.