How Big a Steal Is Douglas Costa for Bayern Munich?

With Franck Ribery having missed much of the 2014-15 season injured and aged 32 years, Bayern Munich's board of directors knew there could be no delay in finding a reliable backup. The German giants were linked with a wide range of attacking stars from around Europe, but in the end, it was a much lesser known talent that came to the Allianz Arena.

On July 1, the Bundesliga champions revealed that Douglas Costa had joined from Shakhtar Donetsk. Not an established superstar from a bigger league, such as Angel Di Maria or Antoine Griezmann, but a talented player who was a star in Ukraine but had yet to develop an international pedigree.

At the time, there were serious concerns about Costa's viability as a long-term replacement for Ribery. Nearing the age of 25, his career-best goals haul for a one season was seven, and he'd only reached double digits in assists in all competitions twice. How was he to fill the shoes of a Ballon d'Or finalist, the cornerstone of the Bayern team for the better part of the previous decade?

There were also legitimate concerns about Costa's price tag. Bayern didn't pay a pittance for him—according to Transfermarkt, the Brazilian cost €30 million. For perspective, that's more than Bayern paid for Ribery and Arjen Robben, ranking him behind only Javi Martinez, Mario Gotze and Mario Gomez among the German giants' most expensive signings.

Since he's arrived, however, Costa has taken like a duck to water. From Day 1, he impressed. First in training, then in friendly matches and now in competitive action, in which he's already given four assists to go along with a goal on his Bundesliga debut. Ribery, who remains injured, already looks to be a distant memory. Costa, meanwhile, looks to be on course to become an international superstar.

Despite his far from negligible price tag, Costa's brilliant start now prompts the question, just how much of a steal was he?

An important bit of context in this regard is the price paid for Costa relative to other transfers during the summer window. Manchester City paid some €80 million for Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian is Germany's reigning Player of the Year and had an absolutely outstanding 2014-15 campaign. Yet if Bayern signed the next German Player of the Year for hardly more than a third of the price City paid for De Bruyne, that's incredible value.

Also in England, Manchester United paid a whopping €50 million for Anthony Martial, according to Transfermarkt. That's almost 67 percent more than Costa, and for a 19-year-old who cannot be expected to deliver world-class performances just yet, it's a big risk. Essentially, United are betting he will eventually be worth his status as one of the top handful or so of strikers ever to be purchased on the transfer market.

In Costa's case, Bayern bought a more developed product who, despite his significant price tag, is nowhere near the most expensive transfers in football history.

Compared with other transfers in Germany, Costa is quite expensive but still not the most costly of the summer 2015 window. Fellow Bayern signing Arturo Vidal commanded €7 million more, while Julian Draxler cost Wolfsburg €36 million. The latter is comparable to Costa in terms of his being an attacking midfielder and a replacement for a key player.

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Douglas Costa ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YSFP4yWQw5

— Football Only (@FootBaIIOnly) September 2, 2015"

Draxler is not only more expensive but a bigger risk than Costa even when disregarding cost. The Germany international spent much of last season injured and has made little tangible progress since 2012. He played for Schalke prior to his transfer and performed well intermittently. Costa, meanwhile, has had a hand in a goal in each of his three Bundesliga games.

Draxler is indeed younger (nearing 22) with potential still waiting to be tapped, and the season is still young, but as of now, it appears Bayern got a more consistent player for a lesser fee than Wolfsburg did with their new attacker. Not bad business at all.

It can't be ignored that despite his brilliance, Costa still hasn't achieved much with Bayern. He's had two brilliant months and a handful of competitive games. Time will tell whether he'll be a true Ribery replacement, capable of delivering in the key moments—as the Frenchman did in the 2013 Champions League final, for example.

At this point, however, Costa appears capable of moving mountains. At this rate, he'll prove to not only be the signing of the season but an absolute steal.

@Mr_Bundesliga