Samu Costa set to bolster Al-Nassr midfield
Samu Costa has spent his young career firefighting in La Liga. Now he is being lined up to marshal the midfield of one of Asia’s most star-studded sides.
Al-Nassr have reached an agreement with Real Mallorca to sign the Portuguese midfielder for around nine million euros, according to press reports, a move that would drop a specialist in survival battles into a team built to dominate. It is exactly that contrast that excites Spanish coach David Martinez.
A battler from a club that lives on the edge
“I know Samu Costa well, as he plays for Real Mallorca, a club that is always fighting to avoid relegation to the second division,” Martinez told Al-Arabiya.
That background matters. Players forged in teams permanently looking over their shoulder tend to understand suffering, compact shapes, and concentration. They live off details. They learn to value the ball and the spaces behind them.
Martinez sees those traits as Costa’s greatest gift to Al-Nassr.
“Samu Costa will add strength to the team, as well as balance on the defensive side, because he is a tactically sharp player, and he usually reads matches very well,” he said.
Not a showman, but a decision-maker
This is not a signing for highlight reels. Martinez was clear-eyed about Costa’s profile.
“He is not technically gifted, but he makes a lot of good decisions during matches, and he usually prefers to play in his own team’s half rather than in the opposing team’s half,” he explained.
That preference reveals the type of midfielder Al-Nassr are targeting. Someone who sits, screens, and thinks. Someone who chooses the safer pass when the game demands it, who closes spaces instead of chasing glory.
“He always maintains the rhythm of matches, which will help the forwards a great deal, and therefore his role will be essential in achieving balance in the team’s defence,” Martinez added.
Rhythm. Balance. Decisions. The words of a coach who values control more than chaos.
Fitting into Postecoglou’s attacking blueprint
All of that will feed into the philosophy of Ange Postecoglou, under whom Al-Nassr are expected to lean heavily into attacking football.
“With (Ange) Postecoglou, Al-Nassr will play attacking football, and they will try to dominate matches through short passes and moving the ball forward to play in the opponent’s half,” Martinez said.
To play that way, a team needs a reliable platform. Postecoglou’s sides push numbers forward, full-backs step inside or high, centre-backs spread wide. One wrong decision in the middle and the whole structure can collapse.
That is where Martinez believes Costa becomes valuable.
“Samu Costa can play in the midfield position or in any other position, but this will depend on who plays alongside him, and he can also play between the two centre-backs to build attacks,” he noted.
Dropping between centre-backs to start moves, holding his position when others roam, adjusting his game to the partner next to him – it all points to a player signed to give freedom to the stars in front rather than compete with them.
A familiar face for Ronaldo
There is also the human side. Al-Nassr’s dressing room is built around Cristiano Ronaldo, and the presence of another Portuguese player with whom he shares a national identity can ease the transition.
“From my point of view, a coach always wants players who know each other, because the adaptation period is short, and this relationship will be beneficial for the club,” Martinez said, highlighting the value of familiarity in a squad full of big personalities and expectations.
He expects Ronaldo to embrace the move.
“Samu Costa can create balance, and I am certain that Cristiano Ronaldo will welcome him greatly, and that will be beneficial for Al-Nassr,” he concluded.
If the deal is completed, Al-Nassr will not just be adding another name to a glittering squad. They will be importing a specialist in control and stability from a club that survives on the margins, asking him to anchor a team that wants to live permanently on the front foot.
