TBR View: Robin Koch surely has chance to nail down permanent Leeds spot

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United defender Robin Koch has made a steady start to his Elland Road career and he was starting to look far more settled just before the international break, which came just after an impressive 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

The 24-year-old joined from German top-flight club Freiburg in the summer, taking on the challenge of English football for the first time in his career.

He’s started the opening four Premier League games of the season due to injuries around him and it looks like he’ll get an extended run in the XI during the next couple of weeks.

It’s vital that the Germany international finds his peak form now, as the competition for places in his area is tough and he’s now got a chance to prove to manager Marcelo Bielsa he should be a nailed-on starter.

Koch is competing alongside the likes of Diego Llorente, Pascal Struijk and club captain Liam Cooper for a spot in the heart of the defence.

The international break has not been kind to Leeds so far, as Llorente and Cooper have both returned to Yorkshire with injury problems.

Llorente is set for up to three weeks out of action, while Cooper may be available within two weeks (official website).

That could give Koch the opportunity to play against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Leicester City in the next few weeks, which is the ideal chance for him to make himself undroppable with quality performances.

He’s a no-nonsense centre-back that has shown he’s aggressive in his approach and has got the makings of a real Leeds favourite, but a couple of individual errors means the jury is still out on him for now and he will know there is serious competition to come for him from his teammates.

Cooper and Llorente may consider themselves to be frontrunners for the starting centre-back combination, so Koch won’t get a better chance to show his credentials.