Leeds United centre-back Robin Koch is already part of the long-term plans at Eintracht Frankfurt, despite only signing a loan deal in the summer.
With the summer window closing at the start of September, a huge sense of relief came with it that Leeds and Daniel Farke have closed the door on a chaotic period.
Relegation was always going to see wholesale changes to the squad, but the manner in which players left on loan due to clauses in their contracts was abhorrent.
Robin Koch’s embarrassingly insincere social media message after leaving on loan for Eintracht Frankfurt set the tone for a number of other exits in the summer, with the German centre-back heading back to a more comfortable environment for his abilities.
At present, he is unbeaten in the Bundesliga with his new side, but only has six points from four favourable games with one win and three 1-1 draws – all four games against sides that finished last season either below them or in the second tier.
German outlet SportBild are claiming that the plans are already in place to make Koch a permanent signing at Frankfurt, with the centre-back the only player in their squad that isn’t technically owned by the Bundesliga outfit:
“For the first time in years, all stars belong to Eintracht, no one is borrowed – with the exception of Robin Koch (27/belongs to Leeds), for whom a fixed contract from 2024 is already planned. In addition, only a few players, e.g. Ellyes Skhiri (28), an exit clause – none of the top talents. And: All regular players under 30 have contracts for at least another three years.”
What this means is that Frankfurt are hoping that they are able to start generating more and more income through sales than previously, having tasted success through the €95million profit for Randall Kolo-Muani, a year after signing him for free.
Koch is seen as one of those players to boost their squad’s value for years to come.
It’s a shame that we are unlikely to get much of a fee for Koch, with his contract up next summer, but good riddance anyway.
He wasn’t nearly good enough for the Premier League and we’ve actually improved on him with the signing of Joe Rodon anyway.
We have a centre-back of a similar height, but with actual aerial presence, and better quality in possession too.
