Who is Anton Stach? The latest as Leeds United identify Bundesliga ball-winning monster as transfer target
Anton Stach of Hoffenheim has been mentioned as a possible addition to Daniel Farke’s midfield, making him
another Leeds United transfer target.
Leeds is apparently trying to strengthen their midfield after spending £22 million to acquire Habib Diarra, who is
headed to Sunderland. On Tuesday morning, the YEP published an exclusive article about interest in Stach. The 26-
year-old, who recently concluded another outstanding Bundesliga season, is expected to face tough competition,
according to Elland Road authorities.
Defender Sebastiaan Bornauw was supposed to have his physical on Monday before joining for £5.1 million from
Wolfsburg, while free agency striker Lukas Nmecha and £15 million centre-back Jaka Bijol have already left. And
now that Stach appears to be the focus, the YEP has all the information you need about Leeds’ newest target.
Who is Anton Stach?
certainly fits the bill. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he stands at 6ft 4ins and is considered one of the Bundesliga’s
best ball-winners in his position.
Stach has been a consistent starter for Hoffenheim for the past two seasons. In 74 games across all competitions, he
has four goals and five assists while primarily playing defensive midfield, though he can play just as well at No. 8 or
even in attacking midfield. The German-born player had three more seasons of consistent top-flight involvement
with Mainz and Greuther Furth before moving to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena for £9.4 million. He also assisted
Greuther Furth in their 2020–21 promotion from the 2. Bundesliga.
With plenty of experience in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Nord to boot, Stach is vastly experienced with a total of 243
first-team appearances under his belt at various levels of domestic football in his homeland. The midfielder has also
won two caps for the German national team, having debuted in 2022.
What kind of midfielder is Leeds United target Anton Stach?
As with other targets Leeds have either identified or signed, Stach is physically dominating and an excellent ball-
winning defensive midfielder. That is primarily the role he has been given at Hoffenheim, with a brief to break up
opposition play before progressing the ball forward and kickstarting attacks.
In terms of ball recoveries, interceptions, aerial duels won, and blocks per ninety minutes, Stach ranks in the top
20% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, indicating that he is a superb all-around defensive destroyer,
according to FBRef.com. The German’s ability to win the ball and then move it on well is demonstrated by his
progressive passing, which places him highly among midfielders.
Stach’s ability to win balls is further demonstrated by Opta data, which shows that the midfielder wins an average of
3.96 ground duels every 90 minutes, or 58.8% of the time. With the caveat that both players were playing second-tier
football last season rather than top-flight, that puts them just below Ao Tanaka (4.13 duels won at 53.1%) and above
Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu (3.43 duels won at 58.4%).
Last season, Stach also won possession 5.94 times per 90 minutes of Bundesliga football, whether it was through a
tackle, an interception, or another means. That is higher than what Tanaka (5.89) and Ampadu (5.08) were able to
achieve in the Championship, albeit for a team that had to perform more defensive actions since they defended more.
Given that Sky Germany reported earlier this year that Champions League team Eintracht Frankfurt was interested
in Stack, those figures contribute to the likelihood that Stack will be in high demand this summer. Prior to last
summer, there were also hints of interest from teams like Fulham and Newcastle United.
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