Athletic journo details RB Leipzig stance on pre-agreed JKA transfer to Leeds
RB Leipzig still expect Leeds United to sign Jean-Kevin Augustin permanently if they win promotion to the Premier League, according to Phil Hay.
Augustin, 22, has barely made any impact since joining Leeds on a loan-to-buy deal in January with him playing just three times as a substitute before suffering a hamstring injury in the lead up to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the lockdown period, the loanee managed to get himself up to peak fitness and appeared to have lost a lot of weight in a bit to impress Marcelo Bielsa.
But, unfortunately, the striker has now suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury and Hay claims that he is “highly unlikely” to play in the final nine games of the Championship season.
Leeds may then be forced to splash the cash on signing Augustin permanently from RB Leipzig, with the Bundesliga club still intent on selling their striker.
“Leipzig certainly see this as an obligation if Leeds go up and they’re expecting Augustin to leave them and come to Elland Road if Leeds are promoted. And that was certainly on the minds of Leeds and Augustin as well when the deal was done in January,” said Hay on the Phil Hay Show podcast.
Could this be problematic for Leeds?
They’re already locked into spending £15million on Helder Costa to sign him permanently from Wolves while Augustin will cost around £17million.
That means that if Leeds win promotion, they’re committed to spending £32million on two players who haven’t exactly set the world alight at Elland Road.
Then there’s Jack Harrison and Illan Meslier, who Leeds reportedly want to sign permanently and that could take the spending up to around £50million before any new players and even brought in.
Football’s financial situation is a worrying one at the moment so this could be quite an issue for Leeds United.
In other Leeds United news, this 21-year-old has caught the eye of Leeds’ coaching staff at Thorp Arch.