Wolverhampton Wanderers look to have sold Helder Costa at the ideal time as the Angolan winger is now struggling in Saudi Arabia.

The Old Gold originally signed the 28-year-old winger from Benfica in a club-record deal in 2017, after he impressed in a loan spell at Molineux the season prior.

During his time with the club, Costa would make 109 appearances, contributing 19 goals and 19 assists, the majority of which came in the Championship as he struggled to adapt to the Premier League, where he scored just one goal in a Wolves shirt.

A £16m move to Leeds United would follow after a year-long loan spell at Elland Road and, considering his career since, the Midlands outfit did superbly well to receive such a fee for a winger who was inconsistent at the best of times.

Costa managed just eight goals and 11 assists in 71 appearances for the Whites and repeated his trick of struggling in the Premier League with the Yorkshire side, losing his place in Marcelo Bielsa's side for the 2021/22 campaign.

He was sent on loan to Valencia where he failed to score in 27 appearances before agreeing on a loan deal with Al Ittihad this summer, where he will link up with former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

After he joined Valencia, former Leeds man Noel Whelan summed up his time at Elland Road, and perhaps at Molineux as well.

He said:

“He’s got everything in his makeup. He’s got all the ability, the pace, the skill, but we just didn’t see it enough at Leeds.

“That inconsistency in his performances was frustrating for a lot of the fans because we know what he can do on his day."

Since his summer switch, Costa has featured three times for the Saudi side, failing to score or assist in any of those appearances, which perhaps emphasises how far he has fallen since leaving Wolves.

While he was a good player for the Old Gold in the Championship, selling him for as much as £16m was excellent business by Wolves, as he clearly was never good enough to be a first-team regular in the top-flight, and his disappointing performances since leaving emphasise that.