Here are the Leeds United morning headlines on Sunday 6th December.
Angus Kinnear discusses 49ers investment
Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear says he 'would not be surprised' if the San Francisco 49ers increased their investment in the club.
The NFL franchise became minority investors at Elland Road in the summer of 2018 through their 49ers Enterprises arm and have made their desire to increase their influence in recent months.
Speaking to The Square Ball's Extra Ball podcast, Kinnear outlined the current situation with regards to future investment and where he sees the future lying.
"We've had interest in investment for ever since we've taken on the club. I think as Andrea has improved the structure and improved the performance people have started to see the potential that it's had and it's become a much more investible proposition. Andrea's principle has never changed, which is not about him, it's about how you make Leeds United better. If anybody can come in and help make Leeds United better he's prepared to have a smaller share of a better Leeds United which I think is the absolutely ideal perspective of an owner.
"We have the partnership with the 49ers. We always wanted people who wouldn't just bring funding but would being expertise and they bring expertise from a technical perspective and from a commercial perspective. They are seasoned sports professionals' Paraag Marathe is on the board, I speak to him daily. Jed Yorke, the owner, is now a huge fan, very, very involved in the decision making and they've got great relationships with Andrea.
"So I wouldn't be surprised if they are the source of further investment. They certainly want to be, they want to be more involved, they've made no secret of that. Andrea's made no secret of his willingness to have them more involved and I think from my perspective it's a fantastic partnership on which to found Leeds' future success."
Augustin fitness woes
Former Leeds United loan signing Jean-Kevin Augustin has been dropped by his new side Nantes due to a lack of fitness.
The former France youth international struggled to make an impact at Elland Road earlier this year and is clearly still struggling with his fitness.
Manager Christian Gourcuff has claimed the striker's lack of pre-season has cost him heavily as he tries to make an impact at his new club.
Gourcuff said: "We have now left him out of team training so that he can reach an acceptable level of fitness.
"He is following an individual fitness regime this week with fitness coach Cyrille Moine and that will still be the case next week.
"We integrated him, but we saw that he was not at a sufficient level.
"His lack of pre-season has penalised him so much that he can not be competitive."
Bielsa on Llorente's debut
Diego Llorente made his long-awaited Leeds United debut at Stamford Bridge, albeit not in ideal circumstances. Marcelo Bielsa spoke of easing the Spain international into his side with minutes for the under-23s, but when Robin Koch went down injured in the opening ten minutes against Chelsea, Llorente stepped up.
Bielsa was asked about how the summer signing got on in his post-match press conference.
"It was a game that was difficult to defend given the quality of the opponents' forwards."
Next up for Leeds is a Friday night clash against West Ham which could see Llorente make his full debut.
