Jean-Kevin Augustin is close to being ready to start games for Leeds United, a report from Football Insider has claimed.

The striker has yet to be named in a starting lineup for the club since his arrival on loan from Leipzig in the January transfer window, making substitute appears in Leeds' defeat at Nottingham Forest and draw with Brentford in their last two games.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa has previously stated that Augustin had yet to reach the levels of fitness he expects of those who play for the club, although it seems that may be close to changing.

According to the latest reports, Augustin has been training heavily with Leeds' fitness coaches, who have been impressed with his levels of fitness, with the Frenchman described as being in "excellent nick".

It is also thought that Augustin has demonstrated a great deal of effort and desire in his attempts to reach a stage where he is ready to feature for his new club.

Despite that, it appears unlikely that the 22-year-old will start for Leeds when they host Bristol City on Saturday afternoon, with Bielsa confirming in his pre-match press conference that Patrick Bamford will start this weekend's clash at Elland Road.

It has been reported that Leeds have the option to make Augustin's loan move permanent in the summer for a fee of around £18million, having already paid £2million to sign the attacker on loan for the rest of the current campaign.

The Verdict

This does look to be a boost for Leeds.

Augustin has certainly shown flashes of potential during his brief appearances for the club so far this month, so you feel they will want to exploit that fully as soon as possible.

Indeed, with goals hard to come by in recent weeks, that second attacking option Augustin offers will doubtless be a welcome option for Leeds to turn to, and his previous CV does suggest he is capable of making an impact at this level.

That will likely relieve some of the pressure on Bamford, and it will be interesting to see if Augustin is able to walk straight into the side ahead of the former-Middlesbrough once he does reach full fitness.