Koch joins Frankfurt on loan from Leeds

Koch, who turns 27 on 17 July, returns to the Bundesliga with Eintracht three years after swapping Freiburg for Leeds.

"I'm really excited to become part of Eintracht Frankfurt," Koch told the club's website. "The club is one of the most prestigious in the Bundesliga and has also been flying the flag for German football in Europe in recent years.

"With the new coach, the strong squad and the opportunities here at the club, this is a very exciting challenge for me."

The eight-time Germany international centre-back made 77 competitive appearances during his time at Elland Road, including 73 in the English Premier League. The right-footed defender helped keep them up twice, but was unable to prevent relegation to the EFL Championship this season just gone, in which he featured in 36 out of 38 fixtures.

Kaiserslautern-born Koch made his name during three years at Freiburg, where he was referred to as a “warrior” by coach Christian Streich and earned his first senior international call-up under Joachim Löw in 2019.

"Robin is a leader on and off the pitch," commented Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche. "At almost 27 years old, he's almost at his peak, and he also brings invaluable experience from the Bundesliga and the Premier League, which he will bring to our team."

Koch is the latest summer recruit at Deutsche Bank Park as Frankfurt build for life under new coach Dino Toppmöller. Capable of playing in either a back three or four, he and the left-footed Willian Pacho will help fill gaps left by the departures of Evan Ndicka and Almamy Toure, as well as cover for the now 39-year-old Makoto Hasebe.

Beaten DFB Cup finalists Eintracht finished seventh in the Bundesliga in 2022/23 and will once again compete in Europe this term, this time in the UEFA Europa Conference League – their third different continental competition in as many years.

The 2021/22 Europa League winners will discover their Conference League play-off opponents on 7 August, with the two legs on 24 and 31 August. They kick off the season against Lokomotive Leipzig in the DFB Cup first round on 13 August, before launching their Bundesliga campaign at home to local rivals Darmstadt on 19-20 August.