Noel Whelan cannot possibly see how Leeds United will have to sign Jean-Kevin Augustin on a permanent basis.
United signed the Leipzig hitman on a half-season loan in January but it was a nightmare spell in West Yorkshire for the 22-year-old.
Augustin left Leeds this week after his loan agreement expired on June 30 but, at the time of his original deal, there were reports that the Championship leaders were committed to signing him outright.
According to German outlet Sportbuzzer in January, the Whites will have to shell out £18 million to sign the player if they reach the Premier League.
Thing is, Augustin managed only 48 minutes of football under Marcelo Bielsa due to a couple of different injuries.
But former Leeds striker Whelan is hopeful that his old club have some sort of get-out clause that means they don’t have to spend that sum on a player who Bielsa was unable to use for virtually the entirety of his loan.
He told BBC West Yorkshire Sport: “Surely within the terms of the contract, if you were going to sign him he’d have had to play a certain amount of minutes from when he joined Leeds United.
“Has he shown the club enough that he’s worthy of an £18 million price-tag? Surely no club would not have anything in the contract so they could go back on this deal, surely not.”
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