Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CM
Central midfieldMain
2,584 min · 39 apps · 28 starts
CDM
Defensive midfield
2,171 min · 25 apps · 25 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Leeds · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement68%
Performance50%
Through the match on 31 Oct 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Anton Stach can make a midfield feel smaller for the opposition. His height helps him contest loose balls, while his positioning screens passes into central areas before he steps out to challenge. Bundesliga analysis of his Hoffenheim years singled out interceptions, clearances and distance covered. Those measures help explain a player who protects space as well as winning individual duels.
His route to the top flight was gradual. After spells with Osnabrück, Jeddeloh and Wolfsburg's reserves, he joined the Greuther Fürth side promoted from Germany's second division in 2021. That year he helped Germany win the European Under-21 Championship, coming on late in the final against Portugal. Mainz then gave him his Bundesliga debut; his senior Germany debut followed against Israel in March 2022.
Stach moved from Mainz to Hoffenheim in September 2023 and became a regular in central midfield. His screening work could place him ahead of the back line, while his range also allowed a move into defence. Hoffenheim's 2024/25 Europa League campaign gave him another stage: he scored against Tottenham Hotspur.
Leeds signed him from Hoffenheim in July 2025. During his first English season, manager Daniel Farke described a player who wins the ball and duels but can operate deeper or in a wider attacking role. Stach himself identified ball carrying, passing and strength in challenges as areas he wanted to develop. His midfield value therefore spans two phases: disrupting an opponent's move and helping start the next one.
Dead balls add a different threat. Stach said he had taken corners and free kicks at earlier clubs, and Leeds gave him those duties too. His long-range free kick at Aston Villa in February 2026 was voted Leeds' Goal of the Season by supporters that May. He shaped as if to cross towards the far post before shooting high beyond the goalkeeper.
International selection has had stops and starts. Stach returned for Germany's March 2026 friendlies and came on against Switzerland, but was absent from the World Cup finals squad that summer. Recalled in September, he came off the bench in a Nations League draw with the Netherlands on 24 September and again in a defeat to Greece three days later.