A group of Leeds United supporters have been discussing their striker Jean-Kevin Augustin after Phil Hay of The Athletic shared a co-written piece on whether the Frenchman would suit the Premier League and Marcelo Bielsa’s style via his Twitter account.
The 22-year-old joined the Whites in January from RB Leipzig on loan and it’s understood (as per Bild) his contract includes an obligation-to-buy clause should Leeds achieve promotion to the Premier League. So far, he has been limited to just three appearances for the club, all of which have come as a substitute. In total, Augustin has played 48 minutes of football (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk) for the Yorkshire giants, which may prompt questions over the logic of Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to recruit him.
Here is how some of the Elland Road faithful have responded to the post on the social media platform.
Been impressed with his attitude and desire to be ready. Hope he gets amongst the goals early on.
— Robert Hardy ?? (@mightywrites) June 1, 2020
I remember when we got him a discussion with a French journo who stated: £18m is very cheap because hes not at his best and unfit. A bargain though because a fit JKA is a £35m player and the EFL have never had a player if that quality or price tag.
— Doc (@333doc1) June 1, 2020
I trust bielsa to get him to reach maximum potential, no matter what that potential is
— Ro ?? (@RStreetyy) June 1, 2020
Great read. Could be a huge gamble, but if there is any coach in the world who is gonna get the best out of this guy, it’s Bielsa!
— Antony Carl Higgs (@AntonyCarlHiggs) June 1, 2020
Will Jean-Kevin Augustin go on to become a hit at Elland Road?
Yes
No
It’s clear that these supporters believe the player has plenty to offer at Elland Road once he gets his fitness levels up to where they need to be. Their trust in Bielsa to get the maximum out of the former Paris Saint-Germain striker is also evident. Augustin managed 20 goals and eight assists in 67 appearances for RB Leipzig, and therefore, you can understand why so many remain confident the club made the right decision in bringing him to Leeds.
Youth, pace, skills, strength.. and most importantly
BIELSA!
He’s gonna be lethal when he gets a run.
— Name cannot be blank ?? (@1percentburn) June 1, 2020
He was rated as highly as Mbappe in his late teens so for that to be the case he’s potentially a very good player, Bielsa will nurture that potential and make him world class. I’m sure of it.
— Paul LUFC (@Paullufc888) June 1, 2020
going to be a great buy
— Hydroxispwich (@delmeister1) June 1, 2020
The guys absolute beast. And he loves Leeds already and we love him
— Jack (@LeedsLeeds1919) June 1, 2020
According to Transfermarkt.co.uk, he’s worth £8.55m, which is significantly lower than the €21m (£18.8m) figure quoted by Bild that the Whites will need to pay to sign Augustin permanently. However, if Leeds were to earn promotion to the Premier League, they could well be in a far stronger position financially and in our view, it would likely cost them more to bring in a competent alternative.