Leeds complete signing of Rodrigo from Valencia and Freiburg defender Robin Koch
Leeds have broken their transfer record to complete the signing of Valencia forward Rodrigo on a busy Saturday which also saw them sign Robin Koch from Freiburg.
Spain international Rodrigo has signed a four-year deal with the Premier League club - who ended their 16-year wait for a top-flight return with promotion from the Sky Bet Championship last season.
The deal is believed to be worth £35million including future add-ons; smashing the previous £18million record fee the club paid to West Ham for Rio Ferdinand in 2000.
Leeds director of football Victor Orta welcomed the signing of the 'world class player' - the Whites' first major addition since winning the Championship title in July.
Speaking to the Spanish media following the conclusion of Rodrigo's medical, he said: "It's true that this is the most expensive signing of Leeds' history.
"I would like to thank my president Andrea Radrizzani, and our director Angus Kinnear that believed in all of this. I would like to thank the player and the player's father that believed the project since the start and that allowed us to present what we are."
Orta highlighted how happy the player was to join Leeds.
"It was a fair negotiation, absolutely fair negotiation in all of senses.
"I've been in football for 16 years and this is one of the first times that I see the three parts very happy and this makes me very proud. We are all very happy and obviously we receive a world class player and we are very excited."
🔥 Leeds target Rodrigo, a Spanish international, scored this goal at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last season...
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 25, 2020
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The 29-year-old scored 59 goals and assisted a further 41 in 220 appearances for Valencia after joining from Benfica in 2015.
Rodrigo established himself as a key figure in Spain's national side, starting five of their eight Euro 2020 qualification games before a back injury saw him miss the final fixtures.
He also scored one and assisted another in Spain's 2-1 victory over England in the Nations League meeting in September 2018. In total, Rodrigo has netted eight goals in 22 appearances for La Roja.
Leeds have already converted Helder Costa and Ilan Meslier's loan spells into permanent deals, with Manchester City winger Jack Harrison back on temporary terms for a third season with the club.
The Whites later confirmed the signing of Freiburg defender Koch, with the two clubs agreeing a deal for the German international on Friday.
Koch, who is 6ft 4in, appeared in all bar two of Freiburg’s Bundesliga matches last season as they finished in eighth place.
He started out at Eintracht Trier and moved on to hometown club Kaiserslautern in 2015 before sealing a move to the Bundesliga with Freiburg in 2017.
Koch made 81 appearances in all competitions for Freiburg and made his senior debut for Germany in October 2019 in a friendly against Argentina.
“I’ve signed for Leeds and I’m very happy,” Koch said. “The Premier League is one of the biggest in the world, wherever you go on holiday, everyone knows the Premier League.
“To play with Leeds in the Premier League is a big dream. First game against Liverpool – there’s nothing else to say.”
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