Leeds Confirm Signing of RB Leipzig Striker Jean-Kévin Augustin on Initial Loan
By Tom Gott
Leeds United have confirmed the signing of RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kévin Augustin on an initial loan deal.
Having seen Eddie Nketiah recalled by Arsenal, Marcelo Bielsa was eager to bring in a new striker to compete with Patrick Bamford for minutes, but few expected them to land someone like the highly-rated Augustin.
Leeds took to their official website to confirm the deal, which is initially a six-month loan deal, but the club will have the option to sign the 22-year-old permanently at the end of the current campaign.
Long seen as one of the finest young strikers around, Augustin first moved to Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €13m back in 2017, managing 20 goals in 67 appearances for the Bundesliga side.
With Timo Werner scoring goals at an alarming rate, the decision was made by Leipzig to ship Augustin out on loan to Monaco this season, but he found minutes hard to come by and started just two Ligue 1 matches.
As a result, Leipzig were prepared to find a new home for him, and Leeds have managed to complete what has to be regarded as a massive coup.
A France youth international, Augustin has experience in both the Champions League and Europa League, so his experience will be an enormous boost to Bielsa's side as they look to seal promotion to the Premier League.
He becomes Leeds' third addition of the winter, following goalkeeper Elia Caprile and winger Ian Poveda.
Bielsa's side currently sit second in the Championship, just one point behind league leaders West Bromwich Albion, and they are desperate to seal automatic promotion and not fall into another playoff battle.
Bamford has led the charge with ten goals in the league this season, and adding Augustin will only make Leeds stronger as they come down the home stretch of the campaign.