New details emerge of why Leeds new boy Augustin snubbed Man Utd
Leeds United’s latest addition Jean-Kevin Augustin snubbed a move to Manchester United as he felt the Red Devils had no plan and had something of a “scatter-gun approach” to trying to sign him, a report has claimed.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side desperately scrambled around to find themselves a new centre forward in the last week of the window and were linked to the likes of Edinson Cavani, Danny Ings, Islam Slimani, Dries Mertens, Salomon Rondon and – perhaps most bizarrely – Adolfo Gaich on deadline day, before they eventually got lucky with minutes remaining to land former Watford man Odion Ighalo.
However, it had also emerged just days earlier than United tried to beat their old rivals Leeds to the signing of Augustin, once it became apparent that Monaco were prepared to cut short his loan spell from parent club Red Bull Leipzig.
The Whites announced the capture of the highly-rated French striker from the Bundesliga side last Monday on a loan deal with the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season. The deal is seen as something of a major coup for the Championship promotion chasers.
Despite failing to make their bench on Saturday for the curious home defeat to Wigan, the Yorkshiremen will no doubt be delighted Augustin snubbed a move to their old rivals in favour of Marcelo Bielsa and the second-tier of English football.
And in offering a further explanation for the snub, L’Equipe has given more details about why Augustin rejected the Red Devils – and it doesn’t make for good reading for the men from Old Trafford.
As per the French newspaper, Solskjaer’s side made contact with Augustin’s agent just a matter of moments before the player was due to board a private jet to Leeds. There, it was claimed a 20-minute phonecall was held between the Red Devils and the striker in which they discussed the prospect of the striker moving to Manchester.
However, [as per Sport Witness] rather than convincing him though, it seems this last-minute, scattergun approach ultimately worked against them.
Augustin, who had spoken with Leeds for several hours and been given a ‘meticulous presentation of the project’ decided they were his better choice, particularly when it came to getting game time and given the manner at which the Red Devils made their move.
It’s claimed that sealed Augustin’s mind to join Leeds and join a club he felt had more direction and purpose; the striker then flying in to sign up with the Whites and set Manchester United on the winding, desperate road that led them to Ighalo.
Sol Bamba helped turn Augustin towards Leeds
Hay spoke to former Whites defender Sol Bamba about Augustin and the loan deal that saw him move to the Yorkshire club.
Talking about United’s rumoured interest, Bamba said: “My agent said Manchester United were phoning, trying to get something done, but his [Augustin’s] mind was made up.
“There’d been some talk about Crystal Palace too but on Sunday, what was coming from Manchester United was serious.
“They wanted him and I wondered what might happen but my agent just said, ‘He’s going to Leeds.’ They weren’t interested. There weren’t any second thoughts.”
When asked about whether he had an influence on the Augustin transfer, Bamba said he told him “everything he needed to know.”
