According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Manchester United and Newcastle United were among the clubs that made a late enquiry for RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kevin Augustin, but Leeds United’s move was already too advanced and impressive by then.
Its true for Augustin, David 🙏🏼✌🏼
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) January 28, 2020
The Frenchman arrived at Elland Road yesterday to put pen to paper on a loan deal (with an option to buy) till the end of the season, and Newcastle and others will have to look elsewhere.
Crystal Palace and Brighton were also interested, but they were all too reactive.
“A number of clubs were interested and keen to sign him towards the end of this process, it’s worth mentioning the others, Crystal Palace had been keen in the summer, Brighton recently and also Newcastle,” Ornstein said.
“But they were all too reactive while Leeds were pro-active from the start.”
Newcastle are looking to boost their attacking ranks with Joelinton struggling in front of goal, and landing Augustin could have done them a lot of good.
While the 22-year-old featured just 13 times for AS Monaco, scoring just once before ending his season-long loan, regular playing minutes at Saint James’ Park could have come handy in boosting his confidence.
Augustin scored 20 goals in 67 outings for Leipzig, and given the number of chances Newcastle manage to create (which Joelinton regularly fluff) despite their style of play, the Frenchman would have fancied his chances of finding the back of the net almost on a regular basis.
The Magpies have already brought in Nabil Bentaleb and Valentino Lazaro on loan deals from Schalke 04 and Inter Milan respectively, and it will be interesting to see if they land a striker before Friday’s transfer deadline.
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