Leeds United journalist Beren Cross has shared an update on the transfer saga between the Yorkshire club and German side RB Leipzig over Jean-Kevin Augustin.
This comes as supporters put their questions to Cross in a live Q&A session on Leeds Live, where the journalist answered a range of Leeds-related queries.
During the Q&A session, one user wondered if La Liga’s recent statement on the possibility of Barcelona winger Lionel Messi leaving the club on a free transfer this summer could help Leeds out in their situation with Augustin.
They asked: ‘Do you think the Spanish league stance on Messi will help Leeds get out of the Augustin deal?’
In response to this question, Cross stated that the dispute over Messi’s future does relate to ‘the dates of last season and what they mean for legal agreements’, before claiming: ‘Leeds are certainly using that angle on getting out of the Augustin deal. Leipzig will fight the other way and the lawyers will surely decide who owns him and who should be paying his wages.’
Leeds signed Augustin on a loan deal from Leipzig in the previous January transfer window until the end of the 2019/20 season.
After making just three appearances for Leeds during his time at the club, he returned to Leipzig at the end of June, before Leeds’ 2019/20 season ended.
In Augustin’s contract at Leeds, there was a clause inserted that meant Leeds had to sign the 23-year-old on a permanent basis for a fee of £18 million if they were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2019/20 season, which they were.
However, it became clear that as Leeds didn’t renew Augustin’s loan deal until the end of their season, they presumably had no intention of signing the forward on a permanent basis in the summer.
In regards to Messi, after he made it clear to Barcelona that he didn’t want to continue at the club, La Liga came out and said that it would block any attempt for the Argentine to leave Barcelona on a free transfer this summer, which Cross now believes Leeds could use as an angle to get out of this potential commitment for Augustin.
Do you think Leeds should pay the fee for Augustin?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
It’s a shame that Augustin’s time at Leeds was not successful and it would be disappointing to see this issue make its way to court to be resolved at some point in the future.
In our view, it may well be the easiest option for Leeds to just pay the required fee for Augustin and then get rid of him if they simply don’t want him at the club, instead of dragging out a court case and potentially having to pay a bigger fee than originally intended.