Leeds United transfer dispute on Jean-Kevin Augustin will be heard next week
The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) has fixed a date for the hearing of the long-running saga about the transfer dispute between RB Leipzig and Leeds United.
According to The Kicker, the CAS has announced the exact date for the hearing, which is next Tuesday (15 March) to solve the Jean-Kevin Augustin saga that has lasted for nearly two years.
FIFA has already agreed with Leipzig in this case, but Leeds challenged the decision and moved to CAS. It’s a big week for the club.
Kevin-Augustin was signed by RB Leipzig in 2017 for a reported fee of £13.4 million (16 million Euros) on a five-year contract till 2022.
He turned into a flop at the Bundesliga club. He was first sent on loan to AS Monaco, and then to Leeds in January 2020.
The Whites were in the Championship at that time and Marcelo Bielsa signed him as he looked to push for automatic promotion.
The deal has a clause worth £17.61m (21 million Euros) which was supposed to be active Leeds were promoted to the Premier League, even though Augustin played very little part in it.
Leeds got promoted, and Leipzig demanded the money. However, the Whites argued their agreement was “null and void” as the season finished before June 30th due to the pandemic.
It hasn’t been a quick process, and there’s been a backlog due to the pandemic. If Leeds lose the case, it will come as a crushing blow, as they have to pay a huge chunk of money, which could hamper Jesse Marsch’s transfer budget next summer.
With Bielsa now gone too, paying £17.61m for someone who hasn’t contributed anything for the side will hurt Leeds badly. It would be seen as a huge transfer disaster, if not already.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay has shared what Jesse Marsch did to the Leeds fans after the loss against Leicester and has detailed their reaction.