Alex Chaffer, the Bundesliga’s international content manager, was a guest on a recent edition of the Talking More Shutt podcast.
This particular episode was a ‘Robin Koch Special’ after the Whites recently announced their capture of the 24-year-old German international defender. The former Freiburg man joined the Yorkshire-based club just a few days ago in a deal reportedly worth £11.7m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk).
Despite being full of praise for the centre-back throughout the podcast, Chaffer – a Leeds supporter himself – did make it clear that in his view, the player has a mistake in him from time to time. Here is what he had to say:
“He does have a mistake in him, in that he can get excited about stepping out of defence because he has that midfield past. It’s where he needs to rein in the desire to push out into midfield and keep himself as the centre-back that he’s going to be playing as for Leeds. It’ll just be interesting to see if he can develop that discipline.
“It’s a high-risk game that he wants to play, but it can bring reward as well.”
Are you confident Robin Koch will be a hit at Elland Road?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Based on Chaffer’s comments, it’s clear that in his view, Koch’s progressive nature can lead to mistakes at times. However, in our view, it feels as though his ability on the ball is one of the reasons he could be a hit under Marcelo Bielsa right away. Last season, the £15.3m-rated defender’s pass success percentage in the Bundesliga was an impressive 83.7% (as per WhoScored.com) – supporting the fact he is accomplished when in possession, one of the key attributes if he is to regularly step into the midfield and join in with the play.
According to a report published back in April, prior to the Bundesliga being suspended, Koch had been responsible for the most errors leading to goals and the most errors leading to shots – which would support Chaffer’s concerns.