Costa has built his reputation on industry, duelling and defensive discipline. He is not the kind of signing designed only for a headline. He looks more like a squad-building move.
That profile matters in Saudi football, where the best teams are often judged not just by their forwards, but by how quickly they recover the ball and control transitions.
The update says Al Nassr presented the move with a promotional video and the line “The odyssey begins”. That is in keeping with a club that has leaned into high-visibility announcements as part of a wider identity push.
There is a football point beneath the presentation.
If the report is accurate, this is a move aimed at maintaining standards, not just expanding reach.
For Mallorca, losing a midfielder with established top-flight experience would leave a clear tactical gap. Replacing ball-winning and rhythm in the middle of the pitch is rarely simple, especially late in a window.
The next step is the important one: how quickly Costa settles into Al Nassr’s midfield rotation, and whether this deal signals another phase of targeted recruitment before the window closes.