There is no secret being made of Leeds United’s desire to bring another midfielder to the club. The arrival of a player who can compete for a place in the engine room of Jesse Marsch’s side is very much a priority given the injuries sustained by each of the Whites’ recognised centre midfielders during the recently-finished season.
According to The Athletic, Marc Roca is the man being targeted to bring much-needed depth to the midfield ranks. The report stated that Bayern Munich will be willing to sell the 25-year-old for a fee in the region of £10m with West Ham also interested.
Leeds supporters looking to find out what kind of player Roca is will realise that he is very much a product of the Spanish, or even more specifically, Catalonian, school of defensive midfielders. Based on his time with Espanyol, he is extremely comfortable on the ball, keen to dictate matches as well as being great to watch.
READ MORE: Leeds United could solve midfield issues with Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca
However, his career has stagnated slightly since he moved to Bayern in 2020. Game time hasn’t been particularly forthcoming with the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Javi Martinez and Corentin Tolisso ahead of him. Roca’s injury problems during his debut season also didn’t help as he made just six Bundesliga appearances in that campaign.
For the first part of the following season (the one that finished last month), it was much of the same story for the Spaniard. His first league start of that season came in Bayern’s 16th game of the season, against Stuttgart. Although, such was the quality of his performance in his side’s 5-0 win, he came in for special post-match praise from Julian Nagelsmann who was thoroughly impressed with what he saw.
"Coming in today, and playing the way he did - the way he fought, the way he gave his all, he had an extremely big impact on the game,” he said. “I love players like that, who are very unselfish and show the coach that it was obviously a mistake not to play them so much."
The embarrassment of riches surrounding Roca in Bavaria mean that his time as a starting midfielder at the Allianz Arena were still limited. Although, his performance against Stuttgart showed his commitment and desire to show Nagelsmann how useful he could be.
On another occasion, the Bayern boss said of Roca: "He's a guy who always gives his all in training, who also shows you sometimes that he's got that fire in his belly. He's a strong character and not a little mouse that hides away. He also speaks his mind and makes it known that he has the ambition to play even more.”
Despite clearly wanting more game time, the former Spain U21 international has never moaned or whinged about his situation in Munich. In an interview with BILD last December – which has been translated from German to English - Roca explained how he has dealt with not being a regular fixture in an extremely successful Bayern team.
“I always have to be aware and accept that there are several world-class players in my position at Bayern who give their all, do their job well and deserve to be played,” he claimed. “In such a constellation you have to try to keep your self-confidence and not stop fighting for every minute.”
With an attitude like that, it is easy to see why Leeds and other clubs have shown an interest in signing Roca from the German champions. In the knowledge that the physicality in the Bundesliga is perhaps more stylistically similar to the Premier League than the other major leagues, there are fewer doubts over whether he would be a success on English shores.
Roca admitted himself earlier this season that it took him a while to adapt to the difference in pace between La Liga and the German top flight. He told Bayern’s official site : “I’m a much more complete player than when I switched. My positional play has improved, my tackles, the way I read the game.
“In Spain the football was slower, with more interruptions, everything is faster here. It’s more back and forth. I had to adapt at first, but I’m getting along with it very well now.”
That adaptation as part of a Bayern team known for their ferocious pressing style will have certainly caught the eye at Leeds. With Marsch keen to continue Marcelo Bielsa’s high-intensity system, Roca would know be a very good fit.
According to the statistics provided by fbref, he ranks very highly for pressures per game when compared to players in the same position across Europe. He is also effective when it comes to ball recovery, something that couldn’t be said of him during his time in Spain. But, above all, he is someone who loves to feel the ball at his feet where he can dictate the pace of a game.
Alongside, or as cover for, Kalvin Phillips, the Whites would have two midfielders in front of the defence who are just as willing to progress the ball as they are to win it back from their opponents. That will be music to Marsch’s ears as he bids to bring more control - and less chaos – to the squad at Elland Road.
