Leeds United director Victor Orta has revealed on the Phil Hay Show that just before Robin Koch arrived at Elland Road – the centre-back was given an offer by Borussia Dortmund.
Koch has had a mixed debut season at Leeds, owing mainly to injury.
When the German has been fit his class has been clear to see.
But he has missed a sizeable chunk of his first campaign on the sidelines.
Koch is set to go to the European Championships with Germany this summer, though, which highlights just how much quality he has.
And Orta has revealed that Leeds faced a real fight to land Koch last summer.
“Robin Koch in Germany, 200 scouts were watching him. Borussia Dortmund made an offer one week before he arrived here,” he said.
For Koch to reject Dortmund to join Leeds shows just how appealing their project is.
The pulling power of the Whites is only set to have increased over past year too.
Leeds have impressed since promotion, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side really pushing on in the latter stages of the season.
Leeds went on to claim a top half finish in their first season back in the top half.
And if they can add to their squad this summer, and keep Koch fit all campaign, then a push for Europe could be a real possibility for the Yorkshire club.
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