Thomas Tuchel is gearing up for his debut as the England manager when The Three Lions take on Albania, with one player he selected nearly signing with Leeds United before Jean-Kevin Augustin was brought in instead.
Tuchel will make his first appearance on the Wembley sidelines on Friday as England kicks off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Albania. He has made some surprising choices in his squad, including the return of Jordan Henderson and the inclusion of Dan Burn.
On the other hand, Leeds United is currently striving for promotion to the Premier League, just like in the 2019-20 season. In January 2020, the club was in need of a striker and decided to sign Jean-Kevin Augustin.
Unfortunately, Augustin turned out to be one of Leeds’ worst signings in recent history, managing only three appearances and costing the club a significant eight-figure fee. This decision was made over another player personally chosen by Tuchel.
It was revealed that Leeds had been interested in signing Jarrod Bowen in January 2020, as reported by Phil Hay on The Phil Hay Show in 2022. However, the deal with Hull, Bowen’s team at the time, did not come to fruition as they required an obligatory purchase option.
Bowen went on to join West Ham and has excelled, becoming a key player for the club and impressing with his goal-scoring abilities. Meanwhile, Augustin’s career took a downturn, featuring sparingly for Nantes and Basel.
As Bowen continues to shine in the Premier League, Leeds is left to rue the missed opportunity and wonder how things could have been different with him in their squad.
