Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Tuesday, 7 July.
Paying the penalty
If Leeds United back out of their obligation to turn Jean-Kevin Augustin’s loan into a permanent deal they face paying a hefty penalty clause.
That’s according to a report from Football Insider, who suggest Leeds are already exploring ways to avoid buying the Frenchman outright as per the deal with RB Leipzig in the event of promotion.
The 23-year-old arrived to much fanfare in the January transfer window, but has failed to make a single start and has been on the pitch for a total of 49 minutes after struggling with injuries.
And when his hamstring issues continued throughout the season’s three-month suspension, Leeds opted against extending his loan deal through to the end of the extended season.
The penalty payment is said to “stretch into multi-millions of pounds” if Leeds back out of the £18m obligation to buy.
United XI for run-in
With Pablo Hernandez getting back to full fitness, Kiko Casilla set to become available again after serving his eight-match suspension and Helder Costa and Stuart Dallas not expected to be sidelined for long, Leeds will have a near fully-fit squad for the run-in.
Adam Forshaw is the only senior Leeds player that isn’t expected to make it back for the final push for promotion.
With that in mind, LeedsLive have taken a look at what Bielsa’s best-available starting XI could look like for their all-important final five games.
Here’s that piece in full.
‘Pressure on’
West Brom boss Slaven Bilic says all the pressure is on his side and Leeds - the the current top two - ahead of the final five Championship fixtures.
Brentford have started life after lockdown in excellent form, the only side in the division to have won four out of four since the hiatus, but they still have five to make up on the second-placed Baggies.
"The pressure is on us and Leeds," said the Baggies boss.
"The teams who are below us, Brentford, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, are doing well but they are hoping.
"We have to cope with the pressure. We wouldn't swap with them and we have to cope with it. The pressure will only get bigger. We have to continue being brave and relax in a positive way.”
