Craig Scott

Sat 14 March 2020 12:00, UK

Jean-Kevin Augustin has barely kicked a ball for Leeds United since being signed on loan from RB Leipzig in the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old has made just three appearances, all of which coming off the bench in the Championship and none of them being any longer than 19 minutes.

It would be fair to say that, so far, Augustin has been quite the flop for Leeds and his bid for increased game-time is not helped by the fact he has been injured for the last three matches and hasn’t been named in Marcelo Bielsa’s matchday squad.

Plus, with Patrick Bamford scoring in the 2-0 win over Huddersfield last week, it could have become even harder for the Frenchman to get his shot and win a place in Bielsa’s starting line-up.

However a lot of what we’ve thought over the last few weeks could be thrown completely out of the window once the football season is back underway again.

On Friday, it was confirmed by the EFL that the Championship season has been suspended for the rest of the month due to the coronavirus pandemic that is increasing it’s spread across Europe.

While it’s going to be tough not having any football to watch for the coming weeks, it’s a decision that makes sense and was made for the good of public health.

But the coronavirus-enforced break could prove useful for a player like Augustin because not only is it going to give him time to recover from his injury, but also allow him to get more up to speed for Bielsa.

According to the Daily Mail, Bielsa is making his players train as usual throughout the league’s suspension, meaning that Augustin now has what could be used as a pre-season training period for him.

He can master Bielsa’s tactical system, get his fitness up to standards and hopefully give the Leeds manager a decision to make by the time the football gets started again.

In other Leeds United news, Kaveh Solhekol’s update could throw a spanner into the works for Leeds’ promotion hopes.