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Leeds United have completed the signing of Germany international centre-back Robin Koch from SC Freiburg for a fee of £13m.
✍️ #LUFC are pleased to announce the signing of Robin Koch from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 29, 2020
Koch has signed a four-year deal with Leeds and is expected to be the first choice partner for Liam Cooper at centre-back. However his later arrival at the club, coupled with his imminent joining up with the Germany squad for games against Spain and Switzerland, may mean he has to wait a few games before he enters Marcelo Bielsa’s starting line-up.
The 24-year-old joined Freiburg from FC Kaiserslautern for €3.5m in August 2017 and he went on to make 87 appearances, scoring six goals. He established himself as a centre-back, but he also played as both a holding midfielder and a central midfielder during his time there.
3️⃣ Jahre @scfreiburg. 3️⃣ Jahre, die mir sehr viel bedeuten. Ich bin unglaublich dankbar für diese Zeit, diese Erfahrungen, diese Freundschaften, diese Spiele vor diesen Fans in dieser Stadt. pic.twitter.com/YedCPZFnxr
— Robin Koch (@RobinKoch25) August 29, 2020
Koch tweeted his thanks to the Freiburg support ahead of the announcement and he seemed to be given the blessing of Freiburg fans on social media - which is the sign of a popular player - although they were hard to find among all the Leeds fan responses.
Robin Koch has arrived for his medical. #lufc pic.twitter.com/S3I4Mlzx4I
— THE ULTIMATE (@THEULTIMATEHQ) August 29, 2020
Koch quickly emerged as the main target for Leeds at centre-back once it became clear that a deal with Brighton and Hove Albion for former loanee Ben White would be impossible. Many Leeds fans are seeing Brighton’s stance as a blessing in disguise now, Leeds failing to get a player who has never played higher than the Championship for £25m, and instead getting a Germany international for £13m. This is not an unreasonable stance, but I stand by my previous assertion that Ben White will become an England international.
How happy are you with this signing? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @ThruItAllLUFC.