"Worst signing in football history" - Damning Leeds United verdict issued on January 2020 deal | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit discussed the club's worst piece of business in recent times

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…

It's fair to say that signing striker Jean-Kevin Augustin from RB Leipzig in January 2020 will never be forgotten by Leeds United supporters - but not for good reasons.

With the Whites chasing promotion to the Premier League during the 2019/20 season, Marcelo Bielsa's side moved to sign highly-rated Augustin on loan from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, with Leeds having an obligation to buy should they win promotion.

Leeds eventually won the Championship title, meaning they had to fork out £18million to sign Augustin permanently, but after a less than impressive loan spell at Elland Road, the club tried to get out of it, citing the season being delayed as a result of the pandemic as a loophole, leading to huge legal battles which cost the club millions of pounds.

They were also forced to pay the striker £24.5million in unpaid wages after Augustin didn't join the club, meaning the signing of the Frenchman proved a very expensive mistake.

Jean-Kevin Augustin's signing is not fondly remembered by Leeds supporters

When asked about a time his side got it wrong in the transfer market, FLW's Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith had no hesitation in recalling Augustin's disastrous signing four-and-half years ago.

Speaking to Football League World, Kris said: "There’s one transfer decision that instantly comes to mind, and it would for most Leeds fans, when thinking about poor transfer decisions, and that’s Jean-Kevin Augustin.

"We signed him initially on loan in January 2020 but with a buy option. At face value, it didn’t look a bad deal, Leeds needed a new striker and there was a mad scramble at the time.

"Even though it was rushed, signing Augustin on loan looked an alright deal, especially as back-up with an obligation to buy of £18million if we got promoted. It didn’t sound like bad business knowing he was a talented player.

"Leeds then obviously got promoted and were forced to make the deal even though Augustin had only managed about 50 minutes in half a season, was badly unfit and not up to the standard needed, he just wasn’t a good player for us.

“However, due to Covid delaying the season, Leeds tried to worm their way out of the agreement using technicalities and clauses, and it led to a ridiculously long legal battle which delayed the inevitable

“It ended up that Leeds had to pay all the fee to RB Leipzig and the player himself who was claiming £20million-plus in lost wages, which made it a disaster, and we didn’t even get the benefit of the player playing for us.

“There are plenty of examples at other clubs and at Leeds of bad signings made, but I do think that, pound-for-pound, that is the worst signing in football history.”

Extraordinary Leeds United, Jean-Kevin Augustin claim is a fair one

Augustin played just three times for Leeds, all from the bench, totalling just 48 minutes of football.

Given the money Leeds were forced to pay in the aftermath to both RB Leipzig and Augustin, it means that he became the most expensive player in football history in terms of cost per appearance.

Augustin cost Leeds £13,715 per second of football, according to Metro, which is just horrific business and a move that the club will regret forever.

Leeds were forced to pay £40million in total, £24.5m to Augustin in unpaid wages, and £15.5m to RB Leipzig after they reached a settlement, and they didn't even get the player on a permanent basis in the end, with the striker joining Nantes later in 2020.

It was an incredibly bad piece of business, and it's highly unlikely that Leeds or any other club, for that matter, will ever be able to top it