Jean-Kevin Augustin's loan is over but is his Leeds United career?

The centre-forward joined on loan from RB Leipzig in January, with an obligation for Leeds to buy the player if they won promotion to the Premier League.

But with Augustin not involved in any of the Whites’ 19-man squads since football returned after the coronavirus lockdown, the loan has not been extended until the end of the season.

With coach Marcelo Bielsa suggesting there is no injury involved, it remains to be seen if Leeds will look into clauses in the deal to see if there is any way of annulling the obligation to buy should they win promotion. Six points clear of the play-off places with six games to play, the Championship leaders remain on course to do that despite a slightly stuttering restart to the season.

Leeds had targeted a centre-forward with a proven Championship goalscoring record to provide cover for Patrick Bamford when Arsenal recalled Eddie Nketiah midway through a season-long loan.

The England Under-21 international struggled to convince Bielsa he had the all-round game to compete for a place with Bamford as a lone centre-forward, and only started two league matches for Leeds. He has already started five for the Gunners since returning.

Nketiah was not helped by picking up an injury just after a performance at Sheffield Wednesday which appeared to be winning over the Argentinian coach.

Leeds were effectively priced out of signing all of their leading targets, such as Che Adams, Andre Gray and Dwight Gayle because the prices their Premier League clubs were demanding could not be accommodated within financial fair play rules, so they turned instead to Augustin.

He had similar problems to Nketiah in persuading Bielsa he could fit his style of play, and – not helped by minor injuries – he was limited to just 49 minutes of football for his new club.

The 23-year-old Frenchman was said to have worked extremely hard on his fitness during lockdown but when the club returned, Bielsa let it be know he had put Augustin on an individual training programme.

“He’s been training so far without any problems,” announced Bielsa after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Luton Town, still refusing to say if the loan would be extended less than a couple of hours before it was due to expire.

It is not unusual for Bielsa signings to take a long time to adapt to his idiosyncratic but highly effective methods. Winger Ian Poveda joined on loan from Manchester City at the same time as Augustin, but only made his Leeds debut as a substitute in the first post-lockdown game, at Cardiff City. He is still awaiting his full debut.

Leeds extended the loans of all the others players they had borrowed – Illan Meslier, Ben White, Jack Harrison and Helder Costa – before their season resumed, and agreed a short-term extension with defender Gaetano Berardi.

Leeds may be hoping that after his lack of game time, Augustin tells Leipzig he is not prepared to move.

When he first broke into senior football it was with a glowing reputation but he has so far failed to live up to it. Leipzig signed Augustin from Paris Saint Germain three summers ago, and loaned him to Monaco at the start of the season. It says everything for his impact in the Principality that Monaco were prepared to cut the season-long loan short to allow him to move to Elland Road.

A lack of a reliable goalscorer has been a real issue for Leeds this season, although such has been the quality of their football, it may not stop them winning the title.

Leeds are committed to making Costa’s loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers permanent this summer but promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years will transform their finances, even in these uncertain times.

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