The transfer window officially opened on Friday and there has already been plenty of activity at Elland Road. RB Salzburg duo Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen were signed before the window opening for a combined £35million, and Leeds United remain on the hunt for further reinforcements - particularly upfront and in central midfield.
There is probably only one position in which new arrivals haven’t been linked: central defence. Jesse Marsch has five options at centre-back and five very different individuals, ranging from Spain international and £18 million signing Diego Llorente to 19-year-old academy graduate Charlie Cresswell.
The wealth of choice is so much that Cresswell - who made his debut against West Ham last season and picked up five Premier League appearances - is to speak with Marsch and Victor Orta about his immediate future, with a loan move on the cards. But it remains unclear which senior combination of Llorente, Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk give the Whites the strongest foundations with which to build their team.
READ MORE: Wolves deliver Leeds United transfer blow in race for Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino
All four have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each combination provides a different picture at the heart of the team, but which pairing is best? Or is it even as simple as one ‘best’ duo?
LeedsLive had a look at the four senior options to find out.
Liam Cooper
The club’s longest-serving defender has had plenty of ups and downs since arriving in 2014 for just £600,000, but it was telling how vulnerable the team were last season when their captain was missing.
The 30-year-old played 21 Premier League games last season and Leeds averaged 1.14 points-per-game with Cooper at the back - a rise from the total average of 1.05. The defender missed a large chunk of the season after a hamstring issue in December and Leeds subsequently crumbled, doing so again after their captain hobbled off in the warm-up before the 4-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Cooper’s leadership qualities in the Leeds back-line proved invaluable during the tough moments of last season, and his aerial strength proved crucial in an otherwise fragile defence.
But the Scotland international has a tendency to be vulnerable in behind, and will continue to be so as he gets older and opposition get faster. Cooper lacks the pace to make the recovery runs and may struggle in Marsch’s high and aggressive line.
Diego Llorente
Not many at Leeds blow hot and cold like Diego Llorente. The Spaniard - both by personality and by playing style - relies so heavily on confidence and conviction in his actions that when his performance drops, it falls off a cliff.
The 28-year-old was outstanding as Leeds lost one of their final 10 games last season, including draws against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United and a 10-man victory at Manchester City.
On his day, the former Real Sociedad man is relentless in his ability to nick in front of a forward and win possession, forcing the team forward wave after wave. And in possession, especially for Marsch’s system, the centre-back’s punchy, line-breaking passes can be really effective.
But Leeds fans despair at the defender's sometimes erratic nature, and at crucial times last season his defending was borderline comical. Llorente has the quality to be one of the best defenders at Elland Road but needs to cut out the mistakes if he is to do so.
Robin Koch
The former Freiburg man has been dealt a tough hand since his £13 million arrival in August 2020, often deployed in an unnatural defensive midfield role as cover for Kalvin Phillips - he was also shifted to right-back towards the end of last season and performed relatively well.
The 25-year-old’s commitment last season, in tough positions, must have earned a chance at consistent minutes in his actual role next year. And the German international is more than capable at usurping Llorente on the right of the pair.
A composed and aggressive tackler, Koch can be a typical modern centre-back who progresses the ball forward and contributes to the attack. But, as with Llorente, mistakes are occurring all too often and the defender can lose concentration in key moments.
Those are the kind of problems that can only really be solved with minutes on the pitch, and if Koch can prove that his strengths outweigh his weaknesses then there's no reason he can’t be the number one pick on the right.
Pascal Struijk
The 22-year-old has proven a classy modern defender since arriving from the Netherlands in 2018 - initially to play for the under-23s. Growing up with ADO Den Hag and then spending two seasons at Ajax, in which he competed for football with Lille’s Sven Botman, gave Pascal Struijk a proper footballing education in defence.
And it shows, with the relative youngster seemingly unfazed by the threat of Premier League attackers, and uses his physicality and reading of the game to make up for a lack of outright pace.
The Belgian-born man also operated well at left-back at times last season and has also played in defensive midfield - with differing results. His composure in possession sets him apart from Cooper on the left of that two, with a beautiful left-foot and the vision to play those raking passes.
Struijk is most definitely one for years to come, but unless Leeds are to seriously progress this season into a comfortably mid-table side, experience may well be preferred as an instant fix.
The best pair?
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as picking the two best defenders to make the best pair. Each of the four have their own qualities and they need to complement each other in order for a duo to work effectively.
Preferences will also change game-by-game, with an away-day at Manchester City requiring a different set of defensive qualities compared to a home game against Bournemouth or Fulham.
And that’s why the uncertainty as to who makes the best defensive pair is actually a good thing. It means there are more than two competent defenders - which is more than can be said for Leeds sides of the past.
