Leeds United are confident of negotiating a reduced settlement with former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin, Football Insider report.
What’s the latest news on Leeds and Augustin?
It emerged last week that the Whites have been ordered by FIFA to pay Augustin £24.5m for a breach of contract. This comes on top of a £15.5m fee to RB Leipzig, with Leeds losing their Court of Arbitration appeal last year.
Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers Enterprises look set to be the ones who front up that bill, however, there seems to be a possible development in the pipeline.
Football Insider reporter Adam Williams shared an update he’s heard from Elland Road regarding Leeds and Augustin in the last 48 hours, describing it as a twist.
He said that the Whites are preparing to appeal FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber’s verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with Leeds believing they have ‘every chance of reaching a reduced settlement with Augustin and his representatives, as they did with Leipzig’.
Would be helpful for Leeds…
Augustin will comfortably go down as Leeds' worst ever big money signing, with the now FC Basel forward playing just 48 minutes of football in Yorkshire. He could end up costing the club an incredible £816,326 for every minute of competitive action he played for the Whites, with LUFCDATA saying it works out at a whopping £2.86m per touch of the ball.
However, it seems as if the club feel they can reduce the £24.5m figure, which would be helpful, especially with the 49ers looking likely to take control at Elland Road this summer.
Relegation would also impact the club's finances, something which is a real possibility with nine games remaining in the Premier League, so every penny that can be saved on Augustin's settlement would come in handy.
It will be interesting to see if an agreement can be reached, but it wouldn't come as a surprise if this rumbled on over the coming months as it did with Leeds' case with Leipzig over the transfer fee.