Leeds: Leeds United on Sunday announced the signing of Robin Koch, who is making a move from SC Freiburg.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Elland Road, running until the summer of 2024.
"Leeds United are pleased to announce the signing of Robin Koch from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg for an undisclosed fee," the club said in a statement.
Koch had joined SC Freiburg in 2017 and over the past three seasons, he has made a total of 87 outings in all competitions for Freiburg, scoring five goals.
During the 2019/20 campaign, he played 32 league games for Freiburg, helping them finish in eighth place in the Bundesliga.
His performances over recent seasons did not go unnoticed at the international level, with Koch winning caps for Germany's Under-21s, helping them reach the European Championship final in June 2019. He was then handed his senior debut for Germany last October against Argentina.
Koch has been included in the latest Germany squad and could make further appearances in their upcoming games against Spain and Switzerland.
Marcelo Bielsa has guided Leeds to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years, and Koch said he was delighted to team up with the Argentine.
"It was one of the points for me to come here to Leeds," said Koch, who missed only two Bundesliga games last season.
The 6ft 4in defender revealed he had spoken about Bielsa with Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich, who he played alongside at Kaiserslautern.
Koch explained: "I talked to the players and Klich said 'yeah, the coach really makes us better'. I heard that from a lot of people, but to hear it directly from a player under him, it was good for me.
"So I'm ready for my next step, in a new league and also to get to the next level of personality in my game and this is the best step for me - under Bielsa at Leeds."
Koch had posted his farewells to the Freiburg fans on social media and later in the evening, Leeds confirmed the acquisition of the centre-back, who made his breakthrough with SV Eintracht Trier.
He then moved to hometown club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with whom he also spent time with during his youth career.
In three campaigns with Freiburg, who finished eighth in last season's Bundesliga, Koch made 87 appearances and scored five goals.
