Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa show early signs of transforming wasteful Leeds into Championship winners

Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup victory over Salford City was hardly the biggest test that Marcelo Bielsa’s new-look-yet-familiar side will face this season, but it came with its slice of promise regardless

Eddie Nketiah announced his arrival at Leeds in style against Salford City (PA)

The books have had to be carefully balanced at Elland Road these last few months, just as they have at the homes of many other Championship clubs. The nine-point penalty handed out to Birmingham City for breaching an equivalent of Financial Fair Play regulations put the frighteners on practically the entirety of the second tier, showing that the EFL are to be taken seriously when it comes to sustainability.

In the case of Leeds United, the rules have been used to rationalise the unpopular departures of former key figures in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad. Pontus Jansson, the charismatic centre-half, was dispassionately moved on to Brentford this summer. Kemar Roofe joined Anderlecht just last week. Jack Clarke is now a Tottenham Hotspur player, albeit one quickly sent back to Elland Road on loan.

Maintaining consistency from one season to the next and challenging for promotion amid such player churn is difficult in a league as competitive as the Championship. It is even more difficult under a manager like Bielsa, who generally shies away from splashing out in the transfer market and instead prefers to make incremental changes to a small squad which he knows well.

Perhaps that is why two of the six signings that Leeds made this summer were not new and why only one was in any way permanent. Clarke returns, as mentioned, but so does Jack Harrison, once again on loan from Manchester City. They are joined by Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, Brighton’s Ben White and Illan Meslier, a reserve goalkeeper lent from Lorient. Helder Costa, a Wolves loanee, will eventually join permanently on a four-year deal.

Tuesday night’s EFL Cup win over Salford City represented a first chance for many supporters to see most of these new recruits play together and, even when allowing for the newcomer status of the opposition, the signs were promising. Salford were not simply there to make up the numbers, in what was their first EFL Cup appearance in a 79-year history, but they still ended the evening well-beaten by a new-look Leeds.

Of the six signings, only goalkeeper Meslier was excluded from the match day squad. Clarke was a little quieter than usual, though Leeds fans are well aware of why Tottenham paid £10m for the teenager. White was impressive at the back, showing a maturity beyond his 21 years of age, and in that sense he merely maintained what has been an eye-catching start to life under Bielsa so far.

But the real excitement surrounds Costa, who made his first start at the Peninsula Stadium, and Nketiah, who made his first appearance of any sort. Costa left the pitch with two assists to his name, Nketiah with a debut goal. It is hoped that they are the players to turn one of the most wasteful sides in the Championship last year into promotion winners.

Watch the sheer speed of the opening goal at the Peninsula Stadium on Tuesday night - Jamie Shackleton’s exquisite through pass to find an expectant Costa, the pace on his square ball to beat goalkeeper Chris Neal, Nketiah’s lethal positioning just a yard or two out for the tap-in - and you see why.

It was not Nketiah’s first or even his second goal in this competition. His brace for Arsenal as an 18-year-old to rescue a fourth round tie against Norwich City two years ago announced him as a young player to watch. “He smells the combination movements,” Arsene Wenger would say about his young prodigy. Here Nketiah was again, perfectly anticipating when and where to pounce, displaying the nascent predatory instincts which made Unai Emery decide against renewing Danny Welbeck’s contract. It should be the first of many goals for Leeds.

Costa, meanwhile, could be the deciding factor between success and failure. Bielsa rarely insists on any signing but was very keen for director of football Victor Orta to bring the winger to Elland Road. The creative workload cannot rest solely on a 34-year-old’s shoulders, but it often has in the case of Pablo Hernandez, who made a telling impact in both the opening weekend win at Bristol City and Saturday’s disappointing draw with Nottingham Forest. Costa has required time to find fitness, but the pair of assists on Tuesday suggested he is ready to ease the burden on Hernandez.

This season's Leeds side may be familiar to fans but it still has a new look about it (Getty)

It may take a few weeks longer for this side to fully gel. The new faces in key positions need to pick up Bielsa’s ideas quickly. Leeds will have played eight games by the end of August alone, following Tuesday’s win. But initial signs are that, with Nketiah and Costa in tow, they have lost little of the speed, movement and intelligence which took them so close last year. This time, in a division with no outstanding candidates, it could be enough to take them that crucial step further.