Manchester United reportedly failed with an eleventh-hour bid for RB Leipzig’s Jean-Kevin Augustin, who has joined Championship outfit Leeds United on loan.
According to The Ornstein & Chapman Podcast on The Athletic, Manchester United made a last-ditch bid to sign RB Leipzig’s 22-year-old forward Jean-Kevin Augustin, but were beaten to the chase by EFL Championship giants Leeds United, who have snapped up the Frenchman on loan.
Manchester United are in serious need of attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window, having lost Marcus Rashford to an injury. The England international had been in prolific form this season, but a stress fracture in his back has ruled him out of action for at least three months.
This has left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with just Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood as his primary source of goals, leading to the club scouring the market for strikers to boost their attack. A number of names like Edinson Cavani of PSG and Wolves’ in-form striker Raul Jimenez have been mentioned, but it has been slow-going for United in the transfer window.
And, with so little time left for the transfer window to close, Manchester United made an eleventh-hour bid to try and hijack Leeds United’s deal to sign Augustin from RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old is a product of the PSG academy and made 31 appearances for the French champions, before joining RB Leipzig in the summer of 2017.
Since signing for the Bundesliga outfit, the Frenchman has featured 67 times, finding the back of the net on 20 occasions. Augustin was shipped off on loan to AS Monaco last summer, where he did not get a lot of opportunities. The forward came up with a paltry return of one goal and two assists in 13 matches in all competitions.
Augustin’s performances in the first half of the season might have been underwhelming, but the 22-year-old possesses plenty of potential, which prompted Leeds United to take a punt on the youngster as they look to earn promotion back to the Premier League.
But, the Whites faced a late threat to the deal as Manchester United came in with a late offer on Sunday. However, their bid was immediately rejected by RB Leipzig as talks with Leeds were in advanced stages and Augustin was already understood to be on his way to Elland Road for his medical.
This comes as another setback for Manchester United, who have already been snubbed by Cavani and Erling Haaland, while their chase of Bruno Fernandes also hangs in the balance. A shock loan move for former Watford striker Odion Ighalo has been mooted, but it remains to be seen if the Red Devils are able to close any deals before the deadline day.
