‘Purchase option has been activated’ – Club director confirms 23y/o will be moving to Leeds
RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Krösche has broken cover and issued a statement on the future of striker Jean-Kevin Augustin. And it’s not one that Leeds United will want to hear.
In an interview with Kicker (as translated by BuliNews) Krösche has said, “Leeds have been promoted, which means the purchase option has been activated.
“When the contractual agreements were negotiated in January, all involved parties were in complete control of their actions. I expect that things will now move in the appropriate decision.”
Augustin has had a disastrous loan spell at Leeds after not making a single start with the club and playing a total of 48 minutes.
Messy conflict ahead
That’s the view of RB Leipzig but it doesn’t tally up with Leeds and we’re expecting FIFA to have to get involved with this.
Leeds are looking to get out of the deal and MOT Leeds News columnist Paul Robinson has said he’s heard that the Whites think they’re going to “be okay”.
Robinson said, “It could end up being a very expensive mistake but I think they’ll be okay by the sounds of it.
“You’re not going to sign a player who doesn’t want to come to you. If the player turns around and doesn’t want to go to a club then you can’t force him.”
Someone is going to have to pick up his wages, though. The player is under contract until 2022 at RB Leipzig and they’ll have to welcome him back if they can’t force his transfer through.
We’re not sure how they go about doing that, though. If Leeds don’t want Augustin and Augustin doesn’t want to be at Elland Road then that seems like a dead end.
It’s possible the two clubs will have to reach some form of compromise, although professor of labour and sports law at the University of Mannheim, Philipp Fischinger, believes RB Leipzig would prevail in the courts.
He said, “If I had to make a bet, I’d say that Leipzig would win a legal dispute. At least if you assume that German law applies – or Swiss law, which is the preferred choice for transfer cases. If Leipzig and Leeds had anticipated that the season in England would be extended, they would almost certainly have agreed that the period for exercising the purchase option would not end on 30 June.”
That’s the date when his loan expired and Leeds were not promoted on that date because of the Coronavirus outbreak. This one isn’t over yet.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Leeds are done’ – Lee Bowyer delivers verdict on Elland Road clash, Addicks fighting for lives