Phil Hay: Leeds to table firm bid for another new player this week
Leeds United are set to table a “firm bid” for Freiburg centre-back Robin Koch this week, according to The Athletic journalist Phil Hay.
Writing on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday, the former Yorkshire Evening Post reporter also offered an update on Ryan Kent, saying that Leeds haven’t upped their opening bid for the attacker that was rejected by Rangers.
However, it seems that Leeds are putting more of their time and effort into signing Koch than Kent at the moment as the Whites also push forward with a deal for Valencia striker Rodrigo.
Hay has reported on The Athletic website that Leeds are expecting to be able to sign Rodrigo, 29, for around £30million with the club “increasingly optimistic” a transfer will be completed this week.
Rodrigo looks set to become the first new face added to Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team this summer while the ramped-up interest in Koch suggests he’s being eyed as the next new arrival after the Spain international.
Koch certainly has the attributes to be able to fill Ben White’s boots at Elland Road.
It’s been widely reported that Leeds have ended their pursuit of re-signing White due to Brighton’s stubborn stance on the defender.
The Sun has reported that Leeds are ready to pay £20million for Koch, which means he’s cheaper than White would have been.
Although he’s cheaper – mainly due to him being in the last year of his contract at Freiburg – Koch’s stats suggest he could do a better job than White in the Premier League.
Stats by WyScout show that Koch completed 88.7 per cent of all passes last season for Freiburg and 60.7 per cent of his long-range passes.
The Germany international also averaged 4.58 interceptions, 9.26 recoveries and 2.12 clearances per 90 minutes of football last term, as well as winning 68.6 per cent of all defensive duels.
Koch is someone who Victor Orta name-dropped in January as someone he’s been profiling and now, it seems the club’s fully prepared to push on with signing him to replace White.
In other Leeds United news, Sky Sports Fantasy Football have confirmed the price of a player who is yet to officially join Leeds.