Phil Hay of The Athletic has been discussing the situation involving Jean-Kevin Augustin and Leeds United during the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show.
The £8.55m-rated French forward joined the Yorkshire-based club at the end of January on a loan deal from the Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig (via Transfermarkt.co.uk) but it is probably fair to say the 23-year-old failed to have the impact Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds faithful would have hoped.
To validate the above, you only need to look at the number of minutes Augustin played during his time at Elland Road. The striker was limited to just three Championship appearances, playing a total of 48 minutes between January and the end of the 2019/20 campaign, largely due to concerns with regards to his fitness.
According to reports, the agreement between the aforementioned clubs included a clause which meant the Whites were obligated to buy the player if they achieved promotion to the Premier League, however, Leeds are claiming the clause expired on July 1 and the dispute could lead to a court battle between the two parties. Putting the legal dispute to one side, Hay can’t see Augustin playing for Bielsa regardless of what the outcome is, here is what he had to say on the matter:
“Even if they find themselves having to pay money for him, I see no conceivable situation in which he would play for Bielsa again and in which he would be involved. That boat seems to have sailed, and between his fitness and his inability to get up to speed after the lockdown, the nine games at the end of the season, it does appear that Bielsa has washed his hands of him and I don’t think Augustin has any expectation or now desire to come back and play here.”
Do you think Leeds will find a way out of the Augustin clause?
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TIF Thoughts…
Judging by the journalist’s comments, it appears neither the Argentine coach nor the player in question are particularly enthused by the prospect of Augustin returning to Elland Road. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Leeds will be able to avoid making the payment of £18m to RB Leipzig.