Leeds have completed the signing of Robin Koch on a permanent basis from Bundesliga side Freiburg, the Championship title winners have announced.
Koch spent the last three years with Freiburg, during which time he made 87 appearances in all competitions for the club – also earning two caps for Germany at senior international level last season.
But the 24-year-old’s association with the club has now come to an end, after the completion of his move to Elland Road.
The defender has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with Leeds, which is set to keep him in Yorkshire until the end of the 2023/24 season.
Although the official fee Leeds have paid Freiburg for Koch is undisclosed, reports from elsewhere have claimed the Whites paid somewhere in the region of £13million to secure the services of the centre back.
That is a significantly cheaper price than they were offering to make Ben White’s loan move from Brighton permanent this summer, meaning this looks to be a smart piece of business all round.
Not only have they saved themselves a good deal of money – which could now be reinvested in other areas of the squad – from a financial perspective, but they have also completed the signing of a player with a lot more experience at top-flight level than White, which could be crucial in the Premier League next season.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see just how Koch performs over the course of the coming campaign and beyond, and getting a centre back into the club to partner Liam Cooper for the season will surely be a big relief for all those associated with the club.