Leeds United have not made the worst of starts to life in the Premier League, with four points from four games. However, the fans have horror memories of their relegation in 2023, and do not want the team to go down that path after working hard to earn promotion last season.
Their relegation from the Premier League in 2023 came as a shock, as Leeds were looking like they were reestablishing themselves in the top flight. However, Jesse Marsch looked out of his depth that season and a couple of poor managerial appointments led to the team going back to the Championship.
Their relegation to the second tier resulted in an exodus of players, where Victor Orta’s planning hurt the club as several players left on loan as per relegation clauses in their contracts.
A number of those players have now moved on to permanent deals, and one of them is now on the cusp of playing in the first Champions League game of his career.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United defenders?
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Former Leeds United defender set for Champions League debut
Robin Koch joined Leeds from Freiburg when the Whites were promoted to the Premier League in 2020 and had a couple of solid seasons in the Premier League.
However, he had a poor season in the Premier League, like the rest of the defenders in the 2022/23 campaign, and it resulted in Leeds’ relegation.
Koch is one of the players who didn’t stick around to help Leeds get back up and returned to Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt, initially on loan before the deal was made permanent.
His career has not looked back since then, and he has continued to impress at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he is now the club captain.
The 29-year-old centre-back is now preparing to make his debut in the Champions League with Eintracht set to face Galatasaray on Thursday night.
He wrote on Twitter: “Can’t wait for my first Champions League match.
“See you all tomorrow.”
Can’t wait for my first @ChampionsLeague match!
See you all tomorrow! @Eintracht pic.twitter.com/dczOOIhSNp— Robin Koch (@RobinKoch25) September 17, 2025
Leeds fans never forgave Koch
Koch was decent for a couple of seasons, but his performances deteriorated in the season when Leeds were relegated from the Premier League.
On some level, he was the victim of a team in turmoil under successive underperforming or bad managers, and the situation became untenable for many towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
However, Koch, like some of his old teammates, didn’t take ownership of their performances or show any remorse for getting the club relegated.
They used the relegation clauses, poorly negotiated by Orta, to escape Leeds at the first opportunity in the summer.
Brenden Aaronson and Jack Harrison are two players who returned to Leeds following their summer of 2023 escape, but they have found it hard to win over the fans.
Koch has turned out to be a good player for Eintracht and Germany, but he is unlikely to be welcome to visit Leeds any time soon.
