Jean-Kevin Augustin's fitness woes continue with Nantes after Leeds United loan spell

The former Leeds loanee has had a difficult spell.
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Jean-Kevin Augustin's fitness struggles have continued with Nantes following a difficult loan spell with Leeds United last season.

Augustin joined the Elland Road ranks in January on a temporary deal from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, with an obligation to buy included in the transfer should Leeds earn promotion to the Premier League.

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The Paris Saint-Germain academy product failed to make a serious impact in West Yorkshire, struggling with a calf injury and the fitness demands required by Marcelo Bielsa before returning to the German giants amid the elongated campaign due to the global pandemic.

Nantes striker Jean-Kevin Augustin. (Getty)Nantes striker Jean-Kevin Augustin. (Getty)
Nantes striker Jean-Kevin Augustin. (Getty)

United decided against taking up the option of Augustin's permanent signature, which saw neither Leeds or Leipzig claim his playing rights.

The forward made the switch to Ligue 1 outfit Nantes as a free agent in October, looking for a fresh start after his career briefly stagnated in West Yorkshire last term.

The 23-year-old has been limited to just three substitute appearances with his new club, totalling 33 minutes of match action.

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Reports in France suggested he had been dropped from the Nantes first team squad this weekend, and head coach Christian Gourcuff admitted the striker's fitness struggles have continued since his arrival at the club two months ago.

“We have now left him out of team training so that he can reach an acceptable level of fitness," Gourcuff said.

"He is following an individual fitness regime this week with Cyrille Moine (fitness coach) 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.”

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