Leeds United signed the highly-rated striker last week.
Noel Whelan has criticised Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to allow Jean-Kevin Augustin play for Leeds United’s Under-23 side on Monday.
The Leeds youngsters drew 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday in a game which saw the Leipzig loanee make his first appearance in a Whites shirt.
Augustin joined Leeds to rival Patrick Bamford up front and was taken off after 45 minutes in a pre-arranged decision, but footage from social media appeared to show the 22-year-old French hitman moving gingerly as he left the field at half-time.
An injury to Augustin would be an absolute disaster in light of Bamford’s struggles in the 1-0 defeat by Wigan Athletic at Elland Road this past weekend.
And former Leeds striker Whelan can’t believe that his old side risked him in a youth game.
He said on BBC’s The Monday Night club on February 3: “Augustin took a knock but he’s okay. But you’re running a big risk there. What if he had been injured? We’d be left with just one striker!
“It’s just says to me… ridiculous, when you’ve got a new striker who’s playing for the Under-23s if he’s not match ready, what are Leeds thinking?”
Whelan is right – it is ridiculous.
Bielsa controversially left him out of the squad for the Wigan defeat and it would’ve looked very, very bad had the ‘knock’ been a bit more serious than it seemingly is.
Bamford missed a whole host of clear-cut chances against the Latics and, with only a three-point cushion in the top two, Leeds don’t have the luxury of risking Augustin in what was essentially a nothing game in comparison to senior Championship matches at this stage of the season.
Their promotion hopes might well hinge on Augustin being a success story in West Yorkshire and Bielsa must not take needless risks.
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