Phillips is a fixture in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad, sitting in front of the centre-backs, breaking down the opposition’s moves while kicking off his own team’s attacks.
The Argentine started Koch, a natural centre-back, as a replacement for Phillips in the Whites’ last two Premier League games, with the latest coming a 3-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Former Leeds star Matteo is impressed with how Koch stepped up in midfield, and is of the view that the German can provide competition for Phillips in the defensive midfield role, which is a key position for the Whites.
However, Matteo stressed that one key area where Leeds need to improve is to get more shots on target in every game.
“We got into some great positions [against Spurs] and played ourselves into the area beautifully, the work rate was outstanding, but if you want to be picky we’ve got to hit the target a bit more”, Matteo wrote in his Yorkshire Evening Post.
“Robin Koch was impressive in that defensive midfield role where games can be won or lost.
“Kalvin Phillips is a top player but everyone needs a little bit of competition.”
Phillips made a cameo appearance in Spurs’ clash and could return to the starting eleven at the weekend when Leeds travel to Turf Moor in the top flight to take on Burnley.
