No better time like the present to go and prove it.
After much talk about the fitness of January signing Jean-Kevin Augustin, however after a couple of substitute appearances, it looks as if he might finally be about to be fully ‘unleashed’ on the Championship.
And with Leeds currently on a stretch of only one win since the turn of the year, with a huge game against fellow top-six contender Bristol City coming up tomorrow, this news couldn’t have come at the perfect time.
According to a report from Football Insider, the Frenchman is currently ‘in excellent nick and making rapid progress to reaching the level Bielsa demands of all first team starters.’ Although before fans get too excited, the Leeds boss did say in his press conference that Bamford would once again start the game, so Augustin will have to make his impact off the bench.
Let’s just hope that he does make an impact if and when he does come off the bench, because time really is ticking for this deal to be seen as ‘worth it’.
You could make the argument that Bielsa and the Leeds United board have gambled the future of the club and their reputations on this signing. Given that they only went into the window with three targets, and the gaping problem that has been the team’s failure to convert their chances this was meant to be the man to solve all of our problems, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to prove it yet.
And if the reason he’s being held back is because they are managing his fitness, and they end up getting the calculations wrong, either by taking too long to get him in the team, or if he’s not fully fit to make a real impact, and Leeds fail to get promoted, then the fallout from it is going to be catastrophic.
Did we take a risk in bringing Augustin when he wasn't fit enough for Bielsa?
Yes
No
Not just from the fans, but as I’ve hinted at before, there will likely be some dire consequences for the rest of the squad.