June will mark two full years since Robin Koch last played for Germany and the Leeds United defender will be hoping that anniversary is eradicated before the summer arrives. Die Mannschaft host Peru and Belgium in friendlies later this month and the 26-year-old could not have done much more to catch Hansi Flick’s eye.
This is by far the best campaign Koch has had in England since arriving during the summer after United won promotion to the top flight. In 20/21, the centre-back would feature in just 33 per cent of the club’s league minutes, then 46 per cent last term.
Fitness had been a problem for Koch before this campaign started. In December 2020 a knee injury he had been carrying since the opening day of the season finally claimed him.
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Koch went down in the early stages of United’s loss at Chelsea and would not return until March 2021. Then in the second top-flight season, there was the pubis problem which lingered for even longer.
Koch would be out from mid-August 2021, after the first game of the season, until mid-December. Since his return to the starting line-up at home to Arsenal last term, Koch has only been missing from six of the last 45 league XIs.
Yes, the former Freiburg man has been at the heart of a defence which has shipped goals and suffered defeats far too regularly for the past 18 months, but his stock is rising. In the very recent past, Koch has stood out as quietly impressive in doing exactly what’s required of him.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Paul Onuachu, Neal Maupay, Wout Weghorst, Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney are just some of the strikers Koch has more than matched since the turn of the year. Leeds are not necessarily winning these games or keeping clean sheets, but the number five is more than doing his bit in the trenches.
From the varying distances press boxes put between the media and the action, Koch looks slighter than some of the more physical opponents he faces, but he is rarely outmuscled. The German does not look especially swift over the grass either and yet he is rarely exposed in footraces.
We saw this kind of dependability in his first season under Marcelo Bielsa, before his knee gave way at Stamford Bridge. Koch’s burgeoning partnership with Liam Cooper was the bedrock of a campaign which ultimately wound up in ninth.
Injuries have hampered Koch, but only Illan Meslier has played more league football than him this season. The defender’s seen out 93 per cent of United’s league minutes and has an assuredness about him which comes from consistent match time.
Not only is he looking to catch Flick’s eye on the international stage, but Koch is among those in the middle of a crucial contract window at Elland Road. The centre-back’s first Leeds deal expires next summer and at 26, with international and Premier League experience, he is not going to be short of suitors if that contract length is allowed to dwindle.
Leeds want to retain Koch’s services and LeedsLive understands talks have been ongoing throughout this season, without any great pressure from either side. There is hope on both sides of the negotiations new terms will not be an issue.
A new contract, with Leeds hopefully retained in the top flight, would be the ideal way to cap off a very strong step forward for Koch at Elland Road.
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