Leeds United lose Jean-Kevin Augustin battle but legal dispute may not be over yet

When Leeds loaned the forward for the second half of 2019-20, there was an agreement they would buy Augustin for £18.1m if they won promotion at the end of the Championship season.

The Whites did that, but tried to use the argument that because their Premier League status had not been secured by the initial June 30 deadline, it was not valid. For the first time in English footballing history the league season ran into July because of the spring coronavirus lockdown.

Leeds used that as justification not to complete the deal for a forward who had not impressed and barely played for them.

Leipzig argued the clause stood whenever the season finished, and world governing body Fifa have concurred.

“We are happy that FIFA has confirmed our legal opinion in the first instance," said Leipzig's commercial director Florian Scholz.

The last two words, though, are significant. The expectation is that Leeds will appeal or take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who eventually resolved a lengthy dispute when Sunderland tried to avoid buying Ricardo Alvarez from Inter Milan in the Italian club's favour and ended up paying far more than they would have had the deal gone through on schedule.

Augustin cut short an unsuccessful loan at Monaco to join Leeds in January 2020. He made only three scoreless appearances amounting to 49 minutes for them, and was sent back to Germany, coach Marcelo Bielsa unimpressed by his football and fitness.

Leipzig did not want the player back, and he has since joined Lille.

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