LEEDS have been threatened with legal action by RB Leipzig for their failure to sign striker Jean-Kevin Augustin.
The Bundesliga side claim the Whites were legally obliged to buy the forward for £17.7million after their promotion to the Premier League.
But Leeds think the deal is null and void because of the coronavirus delay to the season.
Augustin arrived at Elland Road in Janaury on a short-term loan deal which inlcuded an obligation to buy clause if Leeds were promoted.
Leipzig say it is “clear” the Yorkshire side should cough up after going up from the Championship as champions, but Leeds are refusing to budge.
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Their use of Covid-19 as an excuse has riled Leipzig’s commercial director Florian Scholz who lashed out at Leeds in an interview with Sport Buzzer.
He said: “The legal situation is clear.
“Leeds is currently in the process of spending a lot of money in the transfer market.
“But does not stand by its contractual obligations. We are ready to take further steps.”
Augustin, 23, only played three times for Bielsa and still has two years left to run on his Leipzig deal.
And despite recovering from a hamstring injury over lockdown, Leeds decided against extending his loan to enable him to play after the restart.
Speaking earlier in the summer, Bielsa said: “When he finished [his loan spell], we evaluated if it was convenient that he stayed with us or went back to his original team.
“We thought that the most convenient thing was to take the decision we did.”
