Darren Bent has warned Leeds United striker Jean-Kevin Augustin that he may need to be patient as he looks to break into the first-team.
The Frenchman arrived at Elland Road in January on loan from RB Leipzig and his signing brought a lot of excitement considering Augustin has played for PSG, Monaco and France U21’s as well as the German high-flyers. However, his first few months in Yorkshire have been challenging, with the combination of a hamstring problem, general fitness issues and the form of Patrick Bamford restricting the 22-year-old to just three substitute appearances under Marcelo Bielsa.
Therefore, the enforced break has arguably benefited Augustin and he has used his time to get into better shape, with fans very impressed after the club shared a clip of the forward working out last week.
With nine games of the Championship still scheduled to play, the Paris-born player could still make a decisive impact on the Whites promotion push. Yet, speaking to Football Insider, Bent outlined just how tough it will be for Augustin to get into Bielsa’s XI – even if he was aware of the ability the youngster has.
Should Marcelo Bielsa start Augustin when the season resumes?
Yes
No
“Listen, he can have a big impact, but at the same time, he’s got to oust Bamford. Bamford seems to be in favour, the team’s flying at the minute – for Bielsa, there’s no reason to really change things. I think he likes Bamford, he likes what he does work rate-wise.
“The way they’re going, with five wins in a row and the way they’re playing, I can’t see Augustin getting in the team just yet. He might come off the bench to score important goals which they might need, but as for starting games, he’s still got to wait for Bamford to get out of the team. I can’t see it happening for some time yet.”
Leeds, who currently sit top of the second tier, boast a seven-point advantage over third place Fulham in the race for automatic promotion.