With two new signings at centre-back in the summer of 2020 in the shape of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente, centre-back was one key area that Leeds bolstered before they played their first Premier League game following a 16-year gap.
Whites skipper Cooper, along with Pascal Struijk, joins Koch and Llorente to make a quartet of senior centre-backs at Elland Road, while Charlie Cresswell is another promising star from their youth set-up.
And Cooper is of the view that centre-back is Leeds’ strongest area in their first team set-up under boss Marcelo Bielsa, given the intensity of competition for places in that department.
Although Leeds are dealing with injuries to players, including in the centre-half position at present, Cooper stressed that when all of the players are fit, they all push each other to get better with only two or three places up for grabs in a matchday squad.
“It [centre-half] definitely is [the strongest part of the squad]”, Cooper told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“It didn’t look like that two years ago but that just speaks to the success we’ve had and the type of player we can bring in.
“It’s only healthy.
“The lads push each other every single day, there’s only two or three places up for grabs in that centre-half spot and we have to put everything on the line and push each other to be the best we can be.”
An area Leeds have failed to strengthen in recent transfer window is midfield, but they have their eyes on a move for Red Bull Salzburg star Brenden Aaronson next summer, having failed with bids to snap him up in January.
