Bundesliga chief reveals how Leeds United 'allowed' German club to achieve transfer objective

Leeds’ summer transfer business saw a throng of first-team players arrive at Elland Road, including former Spain Under-21 international Marc Roca.

The ex-Espanyol man had been left marooned at German giants Bayern Munich after sealing a 2020 transfer to the Bundesliga champions.

Due to the wealth of talent within coach Julian Nagelsmann’s squad, Roca had been limited to appearances off the bench, brief stoppage time cameos and only the occasional start in Bavaria.

Therefore, Leeds’ decision to sign the 25-year-old was something of a risk given his lack of playing time over the course of the last 18 months, but so far the defensive midfielder is acclimatising well to the Premier League.

Speaking to The Athletic about the summer’s transfer window, Bayern Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić has discussed how Leeds’ deal to sign Roca suited all parties, while also allowing Bayern to achieve their transfer objectives.

“For us, it was clear during the pandemic that we would buy players who gave us the option to sell them if it didn’t work out for them.

“A player like Marc Roca might not have made it here but he’s still a very good and interesting player, a starter for Leeds United, who helps them beat Chelsea.

“Generating these sales allowed us to get in some top players in and put together a squad that’s deep enough for everyone to play a part,” Salihamidžić said.

The Bosnian freely admits Roca’s Bayern move did not work out for either party.

"The former Bayern and Juventus midfielder [Salihamidžić] was blamed for an uninspired transfer policy during the pandemic when Bayern attempted to supplement their squad’s core unit with relatively cheap imports that mostly flopped,” writes Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic, partially referencing Roca’s ill-fated transfer.

Signed for 9 million euros in October 2020, he made just 11 appearances during his first season at the Allianz Arena, the vast majority of which came from the bench.

Roca’s started mainly in fixtures of low importance, such as a FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against Egyptian side El Ahly, and in the First and Second Round of the DFB Pokal – Germany’s version of the FA Cup – versus lower league opposition 1.FC Duren and Holstein Kiel.

His second season would yield even fewer minutes on the pitch. In total, Roca’s playing time in Munich amounted to less than 1,000 minutes, a figure he is almost guaranteed to surpass at Elland Road if he remains fit.

Bayern offloaded an expendable player in need of regular action, to a side whose defensive midfield lynchpin was on the verge of an Elland Road exit –therefore agreeing a transfer mutually beneficial to the player and both clubs.