Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk react as outgoing Leeds United transfer news confirmed | OneFootball

Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk have both wished Robin Koch well after it was confirmed the defender will join Eintracht Frankfurt on a permanent basis from Leeds United.

Robin Koch finalises Leeds United exit

The 27-year-old joined the Whites after they had won promotion to the Premier League, and he would go on to make over 75 appearances for the Yorkshire outfit in all competitions over the next three years.

However, the final campaign at Elland Road was a miserable one, as Koch and the team suffered relegation to the Championship.

Like many of his teammates, the German international had a clause in his contract that allowed him to depart on loan, and a temporary switch was agreed in the summer for Koch to join Frankfurt.

With the defender having entered the final year of his contract at Elland Road, it was always likely that Koch had played his last game for Leeds, and that has proven to be the case.

That’s because it was announced this week that Koch had signed a pre-contract with the Bundesliga side which means he will join for free in the summer on a three-year contract.

Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk react to Robin Koch’s departure

Taking to Instagram, Koch sent a message after the move was announced, and it prompted a response from two of his former teammates.

Right-back Ayling congratulated the centre-back on the move, and added ‘miss you’, whilst Struijk put ‘congrats’ in response to the message.

Whilst Leeds fans were unhappy with Koch and the other players who left on loan following relegation, this shows Koch was appreciated by those in the dressing room.

Even though his time in England ended on a sad note, Koch had been part of a Leeds side that enjoyed a brilliant return to the top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa, but the past two years were spent battling to stay up.

Leeds United set for busy summer

Whether Leeds win promotion or not this season, it’s going to be a huge summer for Leeds as they look to reshape the squad, so, in one sense, it’s a positive that Koch’s future is already sorted.

On the face of it, it’s not great business to lose the defender on a free, but the reality is that they were left in a difficult position due to the loan clause that was part of his agreement, and that was on the previous regime.

Pleasingly for the Whites, the other loanees aren’t out of contract this summer, but it means that big decisions are going to have to be made on the likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra and Jack Harrison among others.

Of course, a lot is going to depend on whether Leeds are back in the Premier League, so it’s going to be a case of waiting and seeing what happens before these calls are made.

So, the only focus is on going up this season for Daniel Farke’s men, who are back in action at Cardiff this weekend.