With the EFL targeting the weekend of June 20 as the provisional restart date, immediately all the focus shifts back to matters of football amid the global pandemic.
Leeds United are top of the Championship table and they are one of the favourites to secure promotion to the Premier League. However, there are still nine games left to play and the break may have disrupted the momentum.
One of the big issues which Marcelo Bielsa needs to address is how to integrate Jean-Kevin Augustin into the squad. The January signing is yet to make an impact and he got injured before the season came to a halt.
However, he has not only recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered in March but also returned to training leaner than when he first arrived. He has gone six months without starting a league game and needs to make an impact in the remaining nine games.
Augustin will no doubt give Bielsa an attacking option and depending on where Leeds finish, his future hangs in the balance.
If Leeds secure promotion to the Premier League, they are obliged to sign him permanently from RB Leipzig. Leeds will have to pay in the region of £18m, matching the transfer record set when Rio Ferdinand came to Elland Road from West Ham United, to secure Augustin’s services.
Augustin earns around £90,000 a week at Leipzig and that is another big hindrance for Leeds. However, he was one of the first players to accept a wage deferral at Leeds after the COVID-19 shutdown.
According to reports from The Athletic, Augustin ‘looks now like a signing for next season’. Bielsa rates Augustin, but he is likely to keep Patrick Bamford ahead of the Frenchman when the season resumes.
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