Leeds United signed Jean-Kévin Augustin on a €4m loan with a €21m purchase option that would be triggered in case of promotion.

Augustin played 48 minutes before being sent back to Leipzig on June 30, before Leeds won promotion.

Now, Leipzig claim Leeds have to pay €21m.

Augustin joined from PSG in the summer of 2017, enjoying a successful debut season with 9 goals.

He struggled for minutes in 2018/19 and left for Monaco, where he rarely played before joining Leeds on loan in January.

His time at Leeds has been blighted with hamstring injuries.

Leeds will argue that the loan ended on June 30 due to the language of the contract, when Leeds still hadn’t been officially promoted.

Leipzig will argue that given the fact that Leeds won promotion at the end of the season, they are contractually obliged to pay the €21m.

If Leeds inserted a minimum appearances or minimum starts clause in the contract, then they have a strong chance at getting out of the deal.

Leicester, for example, signed Ryan Bennett on loan from Wolves in January with a purchase option being triggered if he makes 5 starts.

Leipzig will be looking to make a profit of £4 million on a player they signed three years ago for £14 million who hasn’t quite lived up to the billing.

Leeds will be looking to save vital funds that could be used to bring in starters and players who are better fits for Bielsa.

One thing I’ll say: it is very difficult for new players to get adjusted to Bielsa’s intense training sessions and style of play, especially January arrivals like Augustin who didn’t have a preseason with him.

Either way, this case is likely headed for FIFA and perhaps even CAS.