It looked like Marcelo Bielsa was going to establish Leeds as a comfortable top-flight team again, but they were given an almighty scare last season as relegation became a real possibility as the season went on.
It means a summer rebuild is necessary, while they aren’t helped with star man Raphinha moving on to Barcelona. The Brazilian’s departure may have opened up a chance for someone like Helder Costa to stake a claim for an increased role, but a departure looks more likely.
According to a report from the Yorkshire Post, his former manager Nuno Espirito Santo is looking to take him to Al-Ittihad, and everything points to the £16m signing being allowed to link up with his former boss again.
The Portuguese winger was a key part of the Championship squad but he couldn’t quite make the same impact in the Premier League, and it did appear that he was little more than a rotation option going into next year.
It’s not quite clear if Leeds will recoup the majority of the transfer fee or if this is going to be a permanent exit or a loan with an option to buy, but everything points to him leaving Elland Road this summer.
