Jean-Kévin Augustin

Jean-Kévin Augustin (born 16 June 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Basel.

An academy graduate of French club Paris Saint-Germain, Augustin made his senior debut in 2015 and made 31 appearances for the club, scoring two goals, and won eight national honours. In 2017, he joined RB Leipzig for a €13 million fee.

Augustin has also represented France at various youth levels and was part of the France U19 which won the 2016 European U19 Championship. His performances throughout the tournament earned him the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Augustin was first called up for a professional match for Paris Saint-Germain on 5 October 2014, remaining unused in a 1–1 home draw with Monaco. He made his professional debut on 8 April 2015 in the 2014–15 Coupe de France semi-finals against Saint-Étienne at the Parc des Princes, replacing Javier Pastore after 88 minutes in a 4–1 home win.

He played in PSG's 2–0 victory over Lyon on 1 August in the 2015 Trophée des Champions at the Stade Saputo in Montreal, replacing Edinson Cavani after 63 minutes. Six days later he made his Ligue 1 debut, replacing Lucas Moura for the final minute of a 1–0 win at Lille. On 16 August, he was given a first start, in a 2–0 win over Gazélec Ajaccio at the Parc des Princes. In all competitions, Augustin made 17 appearances across the season, scoring once in a 4–1 home win over Troyes four minutes after coming on for Edinson Cavani on 28 November.

On 19 November 2016, Augustin made his first start of the season, providing the assist for Ángel Di María in the 13th minute in a 2–0 Ligue 1 home win against Nantes. He made 13 official appearances over the campaign, and scored the last goal of a 6–0 win at Caen and Edinson Cavani.

RB Leipzig

On 6 July 2017, RB Leipzig completed the €13 million signing of Augustin on a five-year deal, after being signed by Head Coach Ralph Hasenhüttl He made his Bundesliga debut on 19 August, replacing Konrad Laimer for the final 14 minutes of a 2–0 loss at Schalke. On 16 September, he scored his first goal for his new team, in a 2–2 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Red Bull Arena.

Augustin scored a match-winning penalty away to Borussia Dortmund on 14 October, becoming the first team of the season to win at the Westfalenstadion. Three days later, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–2 home win over Porto in the group stage, Leipzig's first win in the competition. He scored against Borussia Dortmund on 3 March 2018 to help earn Leipzig a 1–1 draw. On 12 April 2018, Augustin scored in the Europa League quarter final defeat to Marseille in a 5–2 defeat, which saw Leipzig eliminated 5–3 on aggregate.

He scored 12 goals in all competitions and gained 6 assists in 37 appearances during the 2017–18 RB Leipzig season, with Augustin competing with the likes of Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen for starting places.

In September 2018, Augustin was disciplined by the club for using his mobile phone in the pre-match build up against RB Salzburg in a 3–2 defeat in the Europa League. In November 2018, he scored in the Europa League in a 2–1 defeat against Celtic. He was linked with a £37 million transfer to Premier League side Everton in December 2018, however remained at Leipzig. He scored 8 goals in 30 appearances during the 2018–19 RB Leipzig season helping RB Leipzig finish 3rd in Bundesliga under Head Coach Ralf Rangnick.

Loan to Monaco

On 1 September 2019, Augustin joined Monaco on a season-long loan deal including an optional buyout clause. He made his debut for the club on 15 September in a 3–4 loss against Marseille in Ligue 1.

He scored his first goal for the club on 30 October 2019, scoring a powerful right footed volley against Marseille in a 2–1 victory in the Coupe de la Ligue. However, Augustin found himself competing for limited striking places with Wissam Ben Yedder, Islam Slimani, Stevan Jovetić and Keita Baldé. On 27 January 2020, RB Leipzig and Augustin agreed to cut his loan spell at Monaco short in order to secure his move to Leeds United on the same day.

Loan to Leeds United

On 27 January 2020, Augustin joined EFL Championship side Leeds United on loan until the end of the season, with the club reportedly having the option to sign him permanently for £17.7 million. It was revealed that Augustin turned down a late offer from Premier League side Manchester United to sign for Leeds. Augustin revealed that working with Leeds' head coach Marcelo Bielsa was a big factor in his decision to sign for the club. Augustin made his debut for Leeds on 8 February 2020, coming on as a 71st minute substitute for Patrick Bamford in a 2–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. After three substitute appearances for Leeds, each one replacing Bamford with 15–20 minutes to play, Augustin suffered a muscular injury in late February, which ruled him out for the next three games. He eventually left Leeds at the end of his loan deal, having only played 48 minutes of football for Leeds. Ex-Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford revealed that the lack of playing time, and the reason for not extending the loan deal in light of the delayed season end, was down to Augustin not following instructions from management, and not putting in the required work.

It was later reported that Leeds had the obligation to complete a permanent transfer of Augustin due to a clause on Leeds achieving promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2019-20 season, however Leeds claimed "extenuating circumstances" surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic "nullify the deal". RB Leipzig threatened legal action over failure to complete the deal, claiming "the legal situation is clear". Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa however was quoted as saying it was "convenient" for Augustin to return to RB Leipzig. The disagreement lay with the date specified in the contract which stated that should Leeds have been promoted by 30 June, the clause would have been legally activated, however with Leeds still having 6 games to play by this date, Augustin's loan period ended and he was released by the club, with Leeds securing promotion on 17 July. Leipzig however argued that under the "spirit of the rules", the transfer should have taken place, as football contracts specify 30 June as the "end of a season", thus the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into account. FIFA confirmed on 8 December 2020 that Leipzig had officially filed a claim against Leeds over the aborted transfer. On 8 June 2021, a FIFA court sided with Leipzig and against Leeds, however Leeds appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport providing details on communications between the clubs showing that they had tried to extend the loan deal, which included the dates for the transfer to become a requirement, but an agreement with Leipzig couldn't be reached.

On 4 November 2022, Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Leeds' appeal upholding FIFA's decision "in its entirety" and ordered Leeds to pay Leipzig a fee of €21m (£18.4m). However, Leeds released a statement confirming that they would review their "legal options with a view to an immediate appeal." On 5th December Leeds released a statement confirming an "amicable resolution of the dispute" putting an end to this.

Nantes

On 6 October 2020, Nantes announced the signing of Augustin on a two-year deal, being signed as a free-agent, with both RB Leipzig and Leeds providing written permission, and relinquishing any claim to Augustin's registration. On 4 March 2021, Nantes announced that Augustin was suffering from Long COVID.

Basel

On 18 June 2022 it was announced that Augustin would join FC Basel on a free transfer with a three-year deal. He joined Basel's first team for their 2022–23 season under head coach Alexander Frei. After playing in one test game, Augustin played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Letzigrund on 28 August as Basel won 4–2 against Zürich. He scored his first goal for his new club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park on 11 September, in fact he scored two goals as Basel won 5–1 against Grasshopper Club.

International career

Augustin is eligible for selection in both the France and Haiti national football teams. He played for the France under-19s in qualification for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. There he scored five goals in six games, including a first-half hat-trick in a 9–0 win over Gibraltar in Dax on 9 October 2015.

He was the top scorer with six goals and Player of the Tournament at the finals in Germany in July 2016. He scored in all three group matches, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over the Netherlands. In the final at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, he opened a 4–0 win over Italy. He finished top scorer for France in the tournament ahead of strike partner Kylian Mbappe.

Augustin was chosen for the under-20 team at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea. He scored four goals in as many games, including a penalty in the 2–1 quarter-final elimination by Italy on 1 June. In a group game against Vietnam, he scored twice in a 4–0 victory after missing a penalty by attempting a Panenka.

In September 2018, France national under-21 football team Head Coach Sylvain Ripoll proclaimed that Augustin rejected a call up to the under-21 team due to muscle fatigue, the dispute with the Head Coach led to his 'non selection' for the national team, Augustin revealed in December 2019 that he had spoken to Ripoll and was available for selection for the national team and was hoping to make the France national football team for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Style of play

Augustin plays as a striker capable of playing anywhere across the forward line, with Bundesliga describing Augustin as 'powerful, quick, direct and capable of making things happen outside, as well as inside, the box.'

His former RB Leipzig Head Coach Ralph Hasenhüttl said of Augustin, 'He's the full package. He's going to be a really important player'. in 2016, Augustin was listed by Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as a wonderkid in a list of his top 9 future prospects in football.

Career statistics

Personal life

Augustin is of Haitian descent.

Honours

;Paris Saint-Germain
*Ligue 1: 2015–16
*Coupe de France: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
*Coupe de la Ligue: 2015–16, 2016–17
*Trophée des Champions: 2015, 2016

;Paris Saint-Germain CFA
*UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2015–16

;Nantes
*Coupe de France: 2021–22
France U19
*UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2016
Individual
* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
* UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Golden Player: 2016
* UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Top goalscorer: 2016
* FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Boot: 2017

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Augustin, Jean-Kevin
1997 births
Living people
Footballers from Paris
French footballers
France youth international footballers
France under-21 international footballers
Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players
RB Leipzig players
AS Monaco FC players
Leeds United F.C. players
FC Nantes players
FC Basel players
Ligue 1 players
Bundesliga players
English Football League players
French expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Monaco
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
French expatriate sportspeople in England
French expatriate sportspeople in Germany
French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Black French sportspeople
French sportspeople of Haitian descent
Association football forwards