Sheffield United failed with a bid to bring Helder Costa to Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that the Leeds United winger turned down an 11th-hour approach from Slavisa Jokanovic's side, who were hoping to sign the 27-year-old on a season-long loan deal.

Instead, the Portugal international agreed a move to Spanish side Valencia, with the forward only becoming available late on in the window as a result of Marcelo Bielsa's signing of Manchester United winger Daniel James.

Jokanovic will have been gutted

Considering the distinct lack of depth in the wide attacking areas of Jokanovic's squad, in addition to Costa's impressive record in the second tier of English football, the fact that the 27-year-old turned down a move to Bramall Lane in the final few hours of the summer transfer window would undoubtedly have left Jokanovic gutted.

Indeed, while the 53-year-old has six senior centre-forwards at his disposal, some of whom are capable of doing a job on the wing, the Blades boss has no players whose primary position is either on the left or right-wing.

And, while the £9m-rated Costa has struggled to cement a place in Bielsa's starting XI since Leeds' promotion to the Premier League, starting just 13 games for the Whites last season, the winger nevertheless managed to score three goals and provide three assists in the top flight of English football.

Furthermore, Costa also proved influential over his 43 Championship appearances in the Whites' promotion-winning campaign back in 2019/20, scoring four goals, registering four assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.5 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

As such, the addition of Costa would have undoubtedly provided Jokanovic and his Sheffield United side with a considerable boost to their chances of getting out of the Championship relegation zone as quickly as possible, before potentially mounting a charge on the top half of the second tier table.

In other news: Sheffield United confirm 11th-hour deadline day transfer, Jokanovic will be buzzing