After being appointed as Leeds United's new manager earlier in the week, Jesse Marsch will know he will have to hit the ground running at Elland Road to preserve the club's Premier League status this season.

The Whites' second campaign back in the top-flight has gone downhill very dramatically in recent weeks, resulting in Marcelo Bielsa's sacking at the weekend following a disappointing home defeat to Spurs.

Marsch will keen to make his own mark on this side as soon as possible, and one call he must surely make, is to finally axe one of his predecessor's biggest mistakes in the transfer market: Robin Koch.

The German had a injury-hit debut campaign at Elland Road last season, playing just 17 times in the Premier League and missing a number of games with a knee problem between December and March.

And, when he has played, he has shown signs of really struggling to get to grips with the pace and intensity of the English game - you only have to look at his performance against Spurs to see that.

Writing in his post-match player ratings against Spurs, Leeds Live's Beren Cross gave him a four, saying: "No protection for the defence or any presence in the middle of the park as Adam Forshaw was left isolated and alone."

Indeed, reports earlier last year indicated that Bielsa deemed the German "too soft" to really succeed in the Premier League, and that coaching staff considered his lack of desire to compete for aerial challenges a real issue.

Koch has had to fill in a hole in that anchor man role in midfield given the injury struggles of Kalvin Phillips, but even with that, Marsch must make the strong decision to drop the German from his starting line-up.

Whether it's potentially moving Adam Forshaw into that void, or pushing Pascal Struijk further forward from the centre-back role he's been playing, or even turning to the club's burgeoning academy in the likes of Nohan Kenneh, Marsch has the perfect chance to make his first big decision.

The £8m-rated Koch must finally be dropped.

Meanwhile, Marsch could become an instant crowd favourite by unleashing this Leeds academy talent...