Influences in the Leeds United dressing room do not come much bigger than Liam Cooper’s. The club captain has been at Elland Road longer than anyone else in the squad and only Stuart Dallas has made more appearances than him.
The 31-year-old is currently in the midst of his most inconsistent spell of starts for the season. Cooper has been in the starting line-up just twice across the last 12 matches United have played.
In the skipper’s absence, Robin Koch and Max Wober have formed a promising partnership in central defence. The run of results may not be drastically better with the German-speaking pair in the centre, but critical eyes are looking at a blunt attack rather than a leaky defence.
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Koch and Wober oversaw the 0-0 draw with Brentford, a 3-1 win at Accrington Stanley, the valiant Manchester United double-bill, a clean sheet at Everton before Wober went off, a 1-0 Southampton win and then a 1-0 set-piece concession at Chelsea. In short, Cooper does not walk back into this side.
Not only are Koch and Wober working well together, but the small matter of Junior Firpo’s renaissance also has to be considered by Javi Gracia. The left-back has arguably been the biggest winner in Cooper’s absence.
Firpo was drafted into a league starting line-up for the first time this season when Leeds hosted Erik ten Hag’s side. Firpo had come in for the concussed Pascal Struijk, someone else who could struggle to break back into this defensive quartet, and was better than steady.
The former Barcelona man has ticked along nicely and shown some consistency, mature decision-making and kept a leash on the rash challenges he saw multiple yellow cards for last season. The euphoric winner against Southampton was the icing on the cake.
Firpo’s come through some low points with Leeds and gone from being a lightning rod for criticism among the supporters to something of a cult hero in recent weeks. On the train back from Chelsea on Saturday night, multiple fans could be heard audibly singing his praises, even in defeat.
If Firpo is well set at left-back there is nowhere for Wober to be moved to, especially when he’s playing so well alongside Koch in the centre. It’s going to be a battle for Cooper, but you sense he’d want it no other way, especially if it means Leeds are performing well in his absence.
If it seems harder than ever for Cooper to force his way back in, that's because it's supposed to be. Victor Orta has tried to build a squad which has stern competition for every place.
The transfer moves for Koch and Wober were made with the long-term future in mind. Cooper has plenty of fuel in the tank at 31, but as he moves away from 30-years-old, Koch and Wober approach their prime years. This is the fight for places they're all geared for.
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