Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Anton Stach from TSG Hoffenheim as the newly promoted side looks to bolster its midfield for the Premier League.
Anton Stach has been a regular presence for Hoffenheim since joining the club in 2023 and has appeared 61 times for the club in the Bundesliga. Before joining Hoffenheim, he helped Greuther Fürth gain promotion from the 2. Bundesliga and achieved two top-half finishes with FSV Mainz 05 in the top tier of German football.
Stach is also a full German international, having been called up twice for the national side in 2022, making his debut in a friendly against Israel, and a second appearance in a 5-2 loss to Italy in the Nations League.
Why Leeds United are interested in Anton Stach
Leeds United‘s usual midfield options of Ao Tanaka, Joe Rothwell, Ethan Ampadu, and Ilia Gruev were more than sufficient in the Championship. The Whites dominated the middle of the pitch when in transition with 61.6% possession, the highest in the league, attesting to their rational play style when playing out from the back.
Unfortunately, these midfield options were mostly rotated due to a myriad of absences. Of the four, only Tanaka achieved over 3000 minutes last season, with Gruev and Ampadu facing prolonged periods with injuries before Christmas, and Rothwell usually being a box-to-box substitute option brought on late in games. To further add to the issues faced by this thin midfield layer, Ampadu was often moved to the back-line to fill in as a centre-back, most notably after Pascal Struijk’s season-ending injury suffered in a draw against Luton at the start of April.
When considering the frequent injuries and the return of Joe Rothwell to his parent club, Bournemouth, the need for a new midfielder became more obvious. Rumours circulated that Leeds were interested in Anton Stach, and Graham Smyth confirmed the interest on Tuesday with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporter describing him as a “giant”.
Anton Stach has been incredibly consistent with his availability; since 2019, he has missed just seven matches due to injuries and illness, playing in over 30 league matches in four of the last five seasons; the top two tiers of German football have 34 matches in a season.
Stach’s arrival would provide the Leeds midfield with much-needed physicality, in addition to his availability. Ilia Gruev is Leeds’ tallest midfielder at the moment, standing at 6″1, while Stach is 6″4. His standout attributes mostly surround his defensive abilities; vs midfielders in the big five leagues, UCL, and UEL, Stach ranks in the 99th percentile for clearances with 3.65 per 90, the 93rd percentile for interceptions, and the 85th percentile for blocks made.
It will also be of great benefit to Leeds to have another player with a significant amount of experience playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues, with their current midfield options having limited experience in the top tier.
Anton Stach could prove to be a bargain
As reported by Florian Plettenburg, Hoffenheim value Stach at €15-20m, around £12.8-17m, which is in line with the price of other players Leeds have been linked with so far, such as their rumoured bid of £18.7m for Habib Diarra.
Habib Diarra seems to be all but announced as a Sunderland player with the transfer costing the Black Cats around £30m, including add-ons.
With Sunderland willing to commit more money towards a midfield signing following the sale of Jobe Bellingham, it will probably be seen that they are being more ambitious than Leeds United. It has to be considered, however, that Sunderland are signing a player to replace what will become one of the biggest holes in their team, with Bellingham being a star player. This would have been difficult for Sunderland to achieve without spending a significant portion of their budget.
While Strach will undoubtedly be a key player for Leeds if the move is completed, he would add strength to a likely duo of Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka rather than plugging a gap.