Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan has claimed the use of natural centre-back Robin Koch in midfield is unfortunate. When the 25-year-old arrived at Elland Road in the same window as Diego Llorente, Leeds appeared likely to pair their two new senior internationals together in defence.
However, a blend of injuries to the aforementioned pair, the emergence of Pascal Struijk and the vital role played by Liam Cooper have prevented a partnership blossoming between Koch and Llorente. The latter has still been used in his natural position but Koch has been used as cover in midfield by both Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch.
He has made 14 league appearances this season and most have been in midfield, where he sits deep and acts as a screen for the defence. The return of Kalvin Phillips to full fitness may allow him to return to his natural position but he will face a fight for a place there.
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Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: "In my opinion, he’s a centre-half. He came in as a centre-half. Yes, you’ve had to use him in certain roles but I’d rather see Forshaw play the Kalvin Phillips role. I think he’s more adapted to that. Sometimes you may put Koch in there because you might need more height in the side against certain teams.
"Also, that defensive capability where you can drop into a three at the back when they’re out of possession. These kinds of things, absolutely. But if you’re asking someone to do a Kalvin Phillips job in the middle of the park, that’s really difficult to do for a centre-half in my opinion. To me, he is a centre-half as a two or a three.
"That is what we bought him for. Unfortunately, he’s been put into certain roles and he’s done a fantastic job at times. He’s a stand-in for our main central defensive midfield player which is Kalvin."
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