Victor Orta may no longer be at Leeds United but the club is still being haunted by some of the Spaniard's shocking transfer decisions from his spell as director of football at Elland Road.
While he did bring some success and helped Marcelo Bielsa take Leeds to the Championship title, their signings since returning to the Premier League have often proved to be far from good enough, and look likely to result in relegation this season.
One such example is Robin Koch, as the Germany international has failed to live up to the expectations that were put on him when he arrived as a promising young defender from Freiburg in 2020, in a deal worth £13m.
How has Koch performed in his time at Leeds?
It was easy to understand why the former Elland Road director of football took a gamble on Koch, given he was a regular in the Bundesliga and had broken into the German national side at a relatively young age for a centre-back.
Now 26, the 6 foot 4 defender has failed to live up to his potential and has arguably regressed from his performances in the Bundesliga, as he has failed to achieve above a 6.6 rating from WhoScored for any of his seasons in the Premier League.
After two injury-hit seasons which saw him manage 17 and 20 appearances in the top-flight respectively, he has been a mainstay at the back for Leeds so far this campaign, so fingers must surely be pointed at him given that no side in the Premier League has conceded more than the Yorkshire outfit.
LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross perhaps gave an indication of what was to come for Leeds when summing up Koch's shocking display in a 5-1 defeat against Manchester United during the opening game of the 2021/22 campaign.
He said:
“Koch and Struijk today, not good enough at all, for me. I think I gave them 3s in the ratings.
“I mean, Fernandes almost retired Robin Koch, it was just horrible to watch, at times, because he just could not get a handle of him."
Despite his less-than-impressive displays and the fact that he hasn't appeared for Germany since February 2021, it seems as if the Kaiserslautern-born defender still harbours hope of being a regular for Die Mannschaft.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth suggested in a recent Q and A that if Leeds do succumb to relegation, Koch will seek an exit from Elland Road, which could be a blessing in disguise for the Yorkshire outfit considering his wretched displays.
In a poor Leeds squad, the former Freiburg man is currently ranked as the 10th-best performer according to WhoScored average ratings, while his FBref scouting report ranks him in the worst 10% of centre-backs across Europe for challenges won and number of dribbles tackled per 90.
Therefore, it would be no great loss to see Koch depart this summer, as it would finally bring an end to his nightmare spell at Elland Road.
