RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kevin Augustin has rejected the chance to join Crystal Palace and has instead agreed to join Championship side Leeds United on loan, according to reports in France.
Frenchman Augustin also had offers from two clubs from his homeland, St Etienne and Renne, but he’s reportedly decided to reject those in order to join Leeds, after he was convinced to make the move to Elland Road by Marcelo Bielsa.
The report indicates that Leeds will also have an option to make the move for the 22-year-old a permanent deal in the summer.
Read Crystal Palace Verdict
It’s never nice to lose out in a transfer battle but losing out to a Championship side is a blow for Palace, in our opinion.
Of course, we don’t know for sure the type of offer that the Eagles made to the Frenchman and he may have felt that he’d get more game time at Leeds, but still, missing out on a transfer target to a side in a lower division is hardly a great look for Palace.
It’s hard to know what type of form Augustin is in as he’s not been a regular starter for Monaco this season, having joined them on loan in the summer.
He’s been kept out of the team by Wissam Ben Yedder and that’s apparently one of the reasons why he’s looked for a second loan move of the campaign. Augustin scored just one goal in 13 appearances for Monaco this season, which is hardly a great return.
Palace have scored just 22 goals in the league this season, only Watford (21) have scored fewer, so it makes sense for the Eagles to be looking for a new striker.
Augustin might have been a good option but it’s now up to the Palace scouts and manager to find another striker to help further boost the Eagles’ chances of having a positive end to the current campaign as they look desparate to find a goalscorer who can help them climb even higher in the league table.
