Player potential can be both prosperous and dangerous.
On one hand, if a player is to reach their maximum skill evolvement, their club can benefit no-end, financially speaking.
Though, if a player fails to hit the heights that their hype holds them accountable to, it can be a damaging affair for their employers.
Wolves are unique in the fact that their saga with former Portuguese and now Angolan footballer, Helder Costa leant more towards the former and more prosperous scenario, rather than the latter.
Costa profit
Costa emerged from the high profile Benfica youth system at the age of 18, in the same age group as Ivan Cavaleiro and Bernardo Silva.
After making his debut for the Lisbon side’s B-team in 2012, he would go onto represent them 72 times, scoring 15 goals. Ultimately, he failed to make the grade for the Benfica first-team, making just one appearance.
After a failed loan-spell at La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruna, he made the brave switch to pastures new to link-up with fellow Benfica graduates Silva and Cavaleiro at Monaco.
Despite teeing up a young Kylian Mbappe for the Frenchman’s first-ever league goal, Costa would go on to play a total of 28 games for the Ligue 1 side, scoring five goals, with Monaco loaded with depth options in Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar and Bernardo Silva.
It wasn’t all bad though as Helder Costa moved on a season-long loan to Championship side at the time Wolverhampton Wanderers in what was his best season ever in terms of end product, with a total of 18 goal contributions in 35 appearances.
Wolves made the transfer permanent, with the Old Gold side splashing out £13m for Costa’s services to break their club-record transfer fee at the time in January 2017.
Ultimately, the attacker was not able replicate his ten goals and eight assists that he showed the season prior, but still chipped in with a solid five goals and six assists to help Wolves top the Championship and gain promotion to the Premier League.
After one season in the Premier League, Costa joined Leeds United on loan in the Championship and after helping them to promotion, made the deal permanent with Leeds forking out £16m but he was soon dubbed a “massive flop” by pundit Noel Whelan.
He featured 22 times in the Premier League for Bielsa’s side the following season (2020/2021) yet Leeds offloaded him to Valencia the following campaign after just one appearance, in what was a strange deal at the time.
With 28-year-old Costa fighting to turn his loan move at Valencia into a permanent deal, he is now valued at just £7.2m, with Wolves’ decision to sell in 2019 looking ingenious.
In other news – Wolves eyeing “all-round” 26y/o regarded as “most complete ever” with fans buzzing…