Leeds United urged against repeat of nightmare striker transfer that "cost a fortune" | OneFootball

FLW's Whites fan pundit wants to see the club sign a striker this month, but avoid any awful deals like Augustin's

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leeds United have been told to avoid signing a striker for big money that could have little impact on the team this month, as they look to win promotion back to the Premier League, much like they did when Jean-Kevin Augustin joined the club on a loan-to-buy deal in January 2020.

Leeds have been flying high in the Championship this season, and look on track to return to the Premier League so long as they keep up their form for the next few months and win key games against the teams around them in the table.

Their impressive showings have not stopped transfer rumours flying about this month though, with numerous positions thought to be on boss Daniel Farke's radar to improve with new additions.

Leeds have been in this very position before, five years ago, as Marcelo Bielsa's side were chasing promotion to the top-flight, and the club saw fit to bolster his striker depth in January after Eddie Nketiah had been recalled from his loan spell by parent club Arsenal.

The Whites signed French frontman Jean-Kevin Augustin on loan from RB Leipzig, with an option to buy him for £17.7 million in the summer, or an obligation to buy him if they got promoted for the same fee.

What happened next with Augustin, and has continued to happen over the last few years, has been nothing short of a disaster for Leeds, and they must not let a similar situation occur as they aim for a return to the top-flight this time around.

Fan pundit urges Leeds to avoid Jean-Kevin Augustin repeat this month

Augustin failed to ever settle at Elland Road back in 2020, as he made just three appearances totalling 48 minutes of game-time in his spell at the club, despite Bielsa's side going on to win promotion at a canter as champions.

His tough spell at Leeds was chalked down to attitude issues and a poor work ethic, but the biggest problems began after he had already left, with Leipzig claiming that the Whites owed them the agreed transfer fee due to their promotion, and that it had been an obligation to buy had they gone up, which they did.

Leeds argued that claim, due to the season being extended due to COVID-19, but the dispute continued, and they were ordered to pay the German club £18.4m by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2022, then ordered by FIFA in 2023 to pay Augustin his full contract, which was worth £24.5m.

Augustin is now widely considered the most expensive player in football history in terms of cost-per-appearance, and while a mistake of that magnitude will surely never be repeated by Leeds, our Whites fan pundit, Kris Smith, has urged the club to not cave to a similar demand of signing an unproven striker for big money that might not fire them to promotion this season.

“It’s an interesting scenario that the club finds itself in this month, knowing that they could feasibly improve in a couple of positions," Kris told FLW.

“Be that at striker, number 10, adding depth at full-back, or even improving on Illan Meslier in goal to make really sure of promotion, even though we’re top of the table right now.

“I think they are rightly wary of dipping into the market and signing the wrong player, or one that is not worth the money that they are available for.

“Last time we gained promotion under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020, we succumbed to that pressure in terms of needing to find a replacement in the transfer market.

“Eddie Nketiah was recalled by Arsenal and we had no backup for Patrick Bamford, so we panicked into the signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin.

“On paper, a player from RB Leipzig that had done reasonably okay in his early career looked an alright signing for Leeds, but it very quickly became obvious that he was an ill-suited signing, and he had cost a lot of money.

“Leeds had to commit a lot in terms of wages, and then the option to buy upon promotion became an obligation, and they found themselves with a player that wasn’t ready to play for Leeds, wasn’t fit enough and wasn’t good enough.

“He cost a fortune without making any impact on us, and I think that’s the pitfall that Leeds are obviously trying to avoid this month.

“But, I don’t think they can let it pass by without some sort of signing in attack. The task is just finding the right quality for the right price, which is possible but obviously not easy.”

Leeds need to sign a striker this month to consolidate their promotion credentials

Leeds have been the most consistent team in the Championship this season, and with two weeks of the January window left, they are yet to make a new addition to their squad.

Boss Farke has a wealth of talent to choose from each week, yet Leeds supporters will feel as if the squad they have could, and probably should, have a better lead at the top of the table, and so new signings this month could well be key to bridging that gap and making sure of their return to the Premier League in May.

To add to that, their options at centre-forward right now are not great, as Joel Piroe is rightly the clear main striker, but then Mateo Joseph has been out-of-sorts and is still largely unproven at the level, and Patrick Bamford has also struggled for form this season and is currently out injured.

With that said, the demand for a new striker is only likely to increase as the window edges closer to the deadline, and the Whites must look to sign another forward to add to their firepower up front, but not one like Augustin, who was unfit, lacked motivation and ultimately cost the club an absolute fortune for very little in return.