MOT View: Do Leeds want to kill off JKA deal so they can sign Raul-esque international forward?
Leeds United seem to be trying to worm their way out of signing Jean-Kevin Augustin on a permanent basis from RB Leipzig.
Augustin, 22, joined Leeds on loan in January but made just three first-team appearances – all as a substitute – before heading back to Germany at the end of June.
The Daily Mail and Germany newspaper BILD have reported that Leeds and Leipzig are now set to lock horns in a legal dispute over the Frenchman, with the Whites arguing their £18million obligation-to-buy clause was not valid because the purchase clause expired on July 1.
Leipzig are said to claim that the purchase clause applies no matter what because Leeds won promotion to the Premier League.
It’s a messy situation but have the Whites already been planning what to do with the money they might save from not signing Augustin?
According to German magazine Kicker, Leeds have set their sights on Stuttgart striker Nicolas Gonzalez.
Kicker says that Gonzalez, 22, want to leave Stuttgart this summer, despite helping them win promotion back to the Bundesliga, and the Germany club could be willing to sell him for around £18.2million.
Gonzalez is the same age as Augustin, roughly the same price, has been in better form over the last year by scoring 15 goals in 29 total appearances, is an Argentina international and has even been compared to Real Madrid legend Raul and Argentine hero Mario Kempes.
A feature about Gonzalez on the Bundesliga website said: “Stuttgart’s No.22 doesn’t just share a surname with Raul. The Argentine has the pace, finesse, intelligent movement and classy left foot that enabled the Spain, Real Madrid and Schalke legend to plunder 429 goals in 1018 competitive appearances for club and country, including 28 in 66 Bundesliga outings whilst on the books of the Royal Blues between 2010 and 2012.”
Stats by WyScout show that Gonzalez, this season, had an xG of 0.48 in the German second-tier as 50 per cent of his shots at goal hit the target while he also averaged 5.64 touches inside the penalty area per 90 minutes of league football.
Leeds’ Patrick Bamford had an xG of 0.59 in the Championship this season but only 38.9 per cent of his shots were on target and his 5.14 touches inside the box is also lower than Gonzalez’s.
The Argentina international averaged a goal in every 0.51 appearances this term while Bamford averaged 0.35 goals per appearance, despite having a higher xG.
Gonzalez is not only someone who Leeds might be targeting to spend their money on if they do not have to Augustin, but he is also someone who could replace Bamford as Bielsa’s first-choice striker next season.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are the only team with “serious” interest in this centre-back.