Three Leeds players still at risk of exits with Saudi Arabia window open, including £15m man

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It has been a period of wholesale changes at Leeds United this summer.

The Whites lost 16 players over the course of the transfer window in the wake of relegation, 14 of which were a regular part of last season’s first team squad.

But Leeds will not be able to rest easy just yet, with the Saudi Arabia transfer window still open until Thursday 7 September.

It is a division which has caused chaos in Europe this summer with a host of huge stars making the move to the Middle East on wages that just cannot be matched anywhere else.

So, with that in mind, here is a look at three Leeds players who could still be at risk of an exit ahead of Thursday.

Helder Costa

An obvious one to start and an exit that would not cause anyone to lose sleep is Helder Costa, who is completely out of the picture at Leeds with a mutual desire from all parties for him to leave.

Costa, who signed for Leeds permanently in 2020 for £15 million, has just one year left on his remaining at Elland Road after spending the last two out on loan.

Incidentally, Costa was in Saudi Arabia last season at Al-Ittihad, where he won the league. However, after the signings of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kane and Fabinho they are now aiming higher, meaning Costa may have to settle for a lower profile Saudi side.

Liam Cooper

Liam Cooper has already turned down interest from Saudi Arabia this summer but in football, you can just never say never.

Cooper was the subject of interest from Saudi second division side Al-Qadsiah, who are managed by former Leeds striker Robbie Fowler, and also signed Joel Robles in the summer.

Given Cooper’s injury problems, it will’ve been hard for him to turn down such a ‘lucrative’ contract offer but it does show just how much he loves this club for him to do so.

However, if they were to come calling again, you just never know.

Junior Firpo

While Junior Firpo has not been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia it is a huge surprise that he is still at Leeds after relegation.

As reported by Fabrizio Romano all the way back in June, Firpo had been expected to move on this summer, but a move just has not materialised and a switch to the Middle East maybe his last chance.

After Leeds’ failure to sign a new left-back, it would be silly to let Firpo go at this point, but if big money comes calling, they may feel they have no choice.