Leeds United have less than a week to find a cover for Patrick Bamford upfront. The search for a striker has stretched for quite some time now and the latest name to be linked with the Whites is Jean-Kevin Augustin. The 22-year-old plies his trade for RB Leipzig, but he is currently on loan with Ligue 1 outfit Monaco.
Reports from L’equipe as cited by GFFN states that Augustin is willing to move to the English Championship club on loan until the end of the season. Clubs like St Étienne, Crystal Palace and Rennes are also said to be interested, but it seems like the striker is willing to move to Elland Road as he was convinced by Marcelo Bielsa.
The idea of getting more playing time is attracting the forward to the Yorkshire club. It is believed that Augustin will move on loan this window and Leeds will have an option to buy the striker in the summer. It remains to be seen whether the Whites can get their man or not in the next few days. United’s approach to sign strikers from the Premier League has been thwarted several times, and now it seems the club decided to pursue players outside of England.
Augustin has started just two games for Monaco in the league, and he is behind the pecking order to Wissam Ben Yedder who is quite clearly the first-choice striker at the club. Augustin started his career with French heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, but he moved to German outfit RB Leipzig in 2017 in search of game time as PSG were filled with top attacking options.
Will Augustin be a good addition?
Leeds United have struggled in the last few weeks to score goals freely. Patrick Bamford has been guilty of not converting his chances, and he isn’t getting much support in terms of attacking returns from his teammates. Tyler Roberts is the other forward option for Bielsa, but he has struggled with injuries so far. Hence, the club must sign a new striker in this window.
Augustin will definitely be a coup for the Whites as he has been playing top-flight football for some time now. The forward has 20 goals and eight assists to his name in 60 appearances for Leipzig. His standout assets are his pace and dribbling skills.
He might have to improve on his link-up play a bit, but he has the pace and physicality to trouble the defenders in the Championship. We believe that the striker would be a decent option for Bielsa to lead the line.
