MOT View: Augustin makes his position crystal clear and Bielsa won’t thank him for his comments
New Leeds United striker Jean-Kevin Augustin has made it as clear as he possibly can that he’s fit and ready to play for the first team.
After suffering an injury scare playing for the Under-23s, Augustin said in an interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post, “Fitness-wise, physically, I feel ready, I feel absolutely ready, 100 percent fit in that sense. I’m ready to play.”
Is there any other way he could have said it?
Marcelo Bielsa said in his press conference ahead of the Wigan game that it would take Augustin time to get up to speed.
He’s already been criticised for that after the 1-0 defeat on Saturday by pundits such as Ian Wright, Clinton Morrison and Danny Murphy, and Leeds fans who wanted to see him on the bench at least.
If Bielsa leaves him out of the squad for the Forest game on Saturday the backlash is likely to get even more severe.
Augustin is fit. He’s absolutely unequivocal about that. Of course, that’s not the only thing that Bielsa was referring to when he said Augustin would need to get up to speed.
Bielsa is exacting over his tactics and the way Leeds play, and never puts new payers in the team straight away.
But how much does Augustin need to know to make a late impact, if required? He’s a striker – he should know how to score goals.
If Bielsa leaves him out again and Leeds lose, the hashtag #LUFC on Twitter could quickly get very toxic again.
Bielsa won’t care but he won’t be thanking Augustin for his comments that have put a huge amount of pressure on him to play him.
The Leeds fans have loved Augustin’s interactions with them so far but Bielsa might well encourage him to tighten his lips a little going forward.
Especially if things go wrong at the weekend and Augustin only plays for the Under-23s on Friday night.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Wow really?’, ‘The day you lost the fans’ – Many Leeds fans react to Radrizzani Twitter message