Leeds United striker Jean-Kevin Augustin is ‘clearly not fit enough to be considered as an option by Marcelo Bielsa’, according to Graham Smyth of the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Smyth recently hosted a Q&A session online with a group of supporters, one of whom asked: ‘What’s the crack with JKA? Is he just out of favour? We need a striking option!’ The French striker arrived at Elland Road from RB Leipzig on loan in January but has been limited to just three Championship appearances so far, playing a total of 48 minutes (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk).
In response to the question posed, Smyth responded with: “He’s clearly not fit enough to be considered as an option by Marcelo Bielsa. There has either been a physical hangover from the injury or the lack of Under 23s games means there isn’t really a vehicle for him to return to the right level of fitness that would allow Bielsa to consider him, but in any case, he’s not currently an option.
“Yesterday’s game was one of those, sadly, that exposed the lack of striking options. When Patrick Bamford is at his very best, no one looks at the bench or even thinks about Augustin. Bamford struggled to get into it and struggled for service yesterday, hence today’s conversation.”
The Whites suffered defeat in their first game back after the enforced break courtesy of Cardiff City and Smyth made the point that Patrick Bamford’s disappointing performance is what has sparked the conversation regarding Jean-Kevin Augustin. Bamford started up front for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, as he has done in 95% of their league games this season (via Transfermarkt.co.uk).
However, the former Chelsea striker underperformed which is shown by the disappointing performance rating of 5.6/10 he was given by WhoScored.com.
Is Jean-Kevin Augustin a lost cause?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Leeds United are obligated to buy Augustin from his parent club this summer should they achieve promotion to the Premier League but the reality is, they may well end up doing so without seeing a great deal of the 23-year-old in action.
His only brief appearances came in games versus Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Bristol City (via Transfermarkt.co.uk). Despite the pause in the season, the situation regarding the player’s fitness appears to be no better after he recently suffered an injury setback and we assume that has left Marcelo Bielsa extremely frustrated.