Jean-Kevin Augustin: Leeds confirm loan deal for RB Leipzig forward to boost Bielsa’s forward options
Leeds United have confirmed the signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin on loan from RB Leipzig until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old had spent the first half of the season on loan with AS Monaco in Ligue 1 but struggled to make an impact with his 13 appearances equating to just 532 minutes of action, a large proportion of which came in cup competitions.
As a result, Augustin has seen his loan spell at Monaco terminated and makes the move to England to try and help Leeds in their fight for promotion to the Premier League, with the club also holding an option to buy the Frenchman at the end of the season.
Jean-Kevin Augustin joins Leeds: Five things to know…
- Jean-Kevin Augustin has signed for Leeds on loan until the end of the season.
- The 22-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan with AS Monaco.
- Leeds have confirmed they do have an option to buy Augustin from parent club RB Leipzig in the summer.
- Marcelo Bielsa’s side are chasing promotion from the Championship but have been in poor form of late.
- Patrick Bamford is Leeds’ top scorer in the Championship with 10 goals.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are currently second in the Championship, just one point behind leaders West Bromwich Albion with 18 games remaining. But they have been in poor form recently, losing their past two games as part of a run of just one win in seven league matches.
In order to try and stop the minor slump, which has seen Leeds drop to just three points clear of third-placed Fulham – albeit with a game in hand – Bielsa’s side have now made three signings in the January transfer window. Augustin joins Elia Caprile and Ian Poveda in signing for Leeds this month, though the latter two may be more for the future given that they are 18 and 19 respectively.
Despite seemingly being around for some time, Augustin isn’t much older at 22. The forward came through the academy at Paris Saint-Germain and made his debut in April 2015, aged 17 and went on to appear 31 times for the reigning Ligue 1 champions.
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Augustin then moved to RB Leipzig in the summer of 2017 and scored 20 goals in 67 appearances for the German side across all competitions before joining Monaco on loan at the start of the current campaign.
As part of PSG’s domestic domination side in France, Augustin has tasted glory with one Ligue 1 title medal to his name as well as three French Cups and two French League Cups. But he also has an individual honour at international level.
In 2016, Augustin was part of the French side to win the European U19 Championships, beating Italy 4-0 in the final. Augustin scored the opener in that game, which would ultimately seal his place as the tournament’s Golden Boot winner on six goals, one ahead of compatriot Kylian Mbappe.
No more likes. It's official 💙💛 #MOT @LUFC pic.twitter.com/Zl4dy4AiNY
— Jean-Kévin Augustin (@33_augustin) January 27, 2020
Augustin scored in four of his five appearances at the tournament including a hat-trick in a 5-1 group-stage win over Netherlands, only failing to find the net in the semi-finals against Portugal.
Since then, Mbappe has kicked on to become one of the biggest stars in the world while Augustin as floundered. However, the Frenchman will be hoping he can kickstart his career in the Championship, helping Leeds reach the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
