Fraught with difficulty and frustrating would be two ways to sum up Jean-Kevin Augustin’s time at Elland Road since his January arrival on loan from Red Bell Leipzig via AS Monaco. Injury means little has been seen of the rated Frenchman. His loan is up, and his short-term, immediate future is to be decided. However, some clues can be gleaned from an article written after last night’s 1-1 draw with Luton by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth.
Injury has robbed Leeds United fans the chance to see him make an impact in his time at the club. After just 48 minutes of substitute performances, a hamstring injury saw his time curtailed as he hit the treatment table.
In one respect, the lockdown couldn’t have come at a better time for him. He battled back to fitness and went beyond match fit to reach Bielsa fit. Then, unfortunately, injury again reared its ugly head and he was back in the medical room for treatment.
Suspicion about whether he will appear again in a Leeds United shirt has risen due to his absences from training and from general sight. The Whites are obliged to pay a closing fee upon Premier League promotion that would make Augustin a €25m/£22.5m purchase. Yet, he’s almost absent without leave.
That, of course, raises a degree of suspicion and was something that led to questions in last night’s post-game presser. These were questions that Marcelo Bielsa responded to saying:
“For the moment I have nothing to inform about this. He was training so far without any problem. It is a decision that when we take it we are going to communicate it.“
That point that Augustin “was training so far without any problem” could be a positive for Leeds United fans waiting for news. Some are saying that the deadline for renewing loans was yesterday, although others have mentioned it could be this Friday.
What is intriguing is, with six games left, Leeds United fans might have fingers crossed in the hope that a fit Augustin might sway United’s decision in keeping him for the run-in to what could be Premier League promotion.
