When Leeds United announced they had managed to land Jean-Kévin Augustin on loan in January, most of the football world were a bit shocked.
Marcelo Bielsa had a lot to do with it, as the Argentinian manager is an exciting mentor to work under, and the fact the club are fighting for promotion will have been a big appeal to the Frenchman, who had just come off a disappointing temporary spell at AS Monaco.
However, he arrived at Elland Road with some physical deficits compared to his new teammates, and the 22-year-old has struggled to find his way into the first-team, making just three appearances in the league so far.
Nevertheless, Leeds have picked up some form in that time, and currently lead the Championship, boasting a seven point cushion over the first play off spot, currently occupied by Fulham.
While that is a huge boost for the club, it also means they will be hope Augustin starts playing more regularly, because if they get promoted, they will have to automatically pay RB Leipzig €21m to make the move permanent.
The clause isn’t anything new, but Kicker remind their readers about it, as Leeds have already paid €2.3m just to get the player on loan, and now face a hefty bill in the summer for someone who has, so far, barely played.
In fact, Kicker state ‘there is already a lot of fear’ among the Elland Road brass that ‘they have made a mistake’ with Augustin.
Leeds might have beaten Manchester United to his signing, but there’s no denying who’s looking like the better loan deal between the Frenchman and Odion Ighalo these days.
