Sources: Leeds United could now dodge £40m Jean-Kevin Augustin payout as new twist revealed
Leeds United are confident that they will at least be able to negotiate a more favourable settlement in the Jean-Kevin Augustin case, sources have told Football Insider.
The club have been ordered to pay £24.5m to the 25-year-old French striker after Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber found that they breached the terms of his 2020 loan contract.
That is on top of the £15.5m Leeds are already committed to paying RB Leipzig after the Court of Arbitration ruled in November that they violated the terms of an obligation-to-buy clause.
The West Yorkshire side had argued that the clause, which kicked in after they won promotion to the top flight, was void because of pandemic-enforced delays to the 2019-20 season.
Augustin played just 48 minutes across three substitute appearances for Leeds, which will equate to £833,000 for every minute he was on the pitch should Leeds be forced to pay the full amount.
But the Whites are preparing to appeal the Dispute Resolution Chamber’s verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, football’s highest legal authority.
A well-placed source has told this site that Leeds believe they have every chance of reaching a reduced settlement with Augustin and his representatives, as they did with Leipzig in the previous case.
The £24.5m sum is the full value of the five-year contract Augustin was due to receive at Leeds, as well bonuses payable during that period.
The Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate is currently with Swiss side Basel, for whom he has netted four times in 18 appearances since he joined from Nantes last summer.
In other news, Leeds United set to let Bielsa favourite go.