Leeds United should have been heading into the international break with a very impressive Championship away win versus Sunderland under their belt until the inexplicable happened at the death at the Stadium of Light.
Illan Meslier had other ideas, as the nervy Leeds goalkeeper somehow misjudged picking up a ball in the dying moments of the game, which ended up handing the Black Cats a share of the points in a 2-2 draw.
However, minus this moment of madness from the ex-Lorient ‘keeper, the defensive unit in West Yorkshire had been tight in recent league clashes, with only five second-tier goals shipped prior.
There’s definitely more confidence amongst the Leeds ranks with the likes of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk at the back when compared with one centre-back flop who struggled all across his stay in England.
Robin Koch's struggles at Leeds
Purchased in the same disastrous transfer window that saw duds such as Helder Costa and Diego Llorente enter the building, Robin Koch proved to be another expensive misfire on Leeds’ end when arriving from SC Freiburg in the summer of 2020.
He would end up costing the Whites a hefty £13m, money that should have been better spent on recruiting a more comfortable option for the level, with Koch never settling in well to his new surroundings.
The lofty 6 foot 4 defender only made 17 league appearances in total during his first season, owing to an injury-disrupted second portion of the campaign, whilst later terms saw his time in West Yorkshire unravel due to abject performances at the back.
The atrocious year of 2022/23 from Leeds’ perspective, which saw the Whites fall back down to the Championship, was the final straw for the below-par German, who collected just five clean sheets in league action from 36 contests.
It’s fair to say the move now goes down as a failure, even if Koch was complimentary of the club on his exit this January, after making his switch to Eintracht Frankfurt permanent.
It feels like even more of a misstep when you take into account who Leeds could have got in over the inconsistent German, with a one-time Whites target then going on to be a £50m buy for a Premier League giant down the line.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
The player Leeds could have signed over Koch
The player in question is Arsenal star Ben White, who was keen on a permanent move to Elland Road in the summer of 2020, having helped his loan employers triumphantly return to the Premier League under the expert guidance of Marcelo Bielsa.
The lively former Leeds manager took a real shining to White when the pair were together in West Yorkshire, with the now more experienced 27-year-old playing every single minute of action available to him in the second tier during the successful 2019/20 season.
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig would even refer to the wide-eyed White as a “warrior” when playing in the Championship, with his time at Leeds extremely formative.
Season
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Clean sheets
24/25
5
0
0
3
23/24
37
4
4
13
22/23
38
2
5
9
21/22
32
0
0
13
Sourced by Transfermarkt.
He has never looked back since joining Arsenal either, with his 2022/23 season going far more swimmingly than Koch’s back at the Whites, picking up five assists when playing out from the back for Mikel Arteta’s men.
White would have been a far more appropriate fit for Bielsa’s men right after promotion over Koch, but the four-time senior England international agreed a new deal with Brighton and Hove Albion instead, after a return move to Elland Road unfortunately collapsed.
“Of course [he was disappointed]. He enjoyed his time at Leeds incredibly. They looked after him so well, the fans were fantastic to him. But when a football club don’t want to sell it’s very difficult.” – Ben White’s agent Alex Levack.
White even openly stated that he was ‘disappointed’ about a reunion never materialising, as per his agent, but he is more than content in North London right now, whilst Leeds are still left to rue their decision-making by shopping in Germany for Koch.
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