Leeds United are closing in on their fourth signing of the summer window but work is far from done, with The Whites also keen to bring in a midfielder and Anton Stach is the latest to be linked.
Gabriel Gudmundsson has travelled to England over the weekend and the Sweden ace is expected to complete a move to Elland Road from Lille, replacing the loss of Junior Firpo who joins Betis on a free.
Leeds are set to beat Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce to Gudmundsson, with a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £8.6m. That will take spending close to the £30m mark this summer, but more is required.
Adam Underwood has sorted out the Leeds defence, bringing in Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Gudmundsson to replace the losses of Firpo and Max Wober. Now, his focus is likely to be a midfielder.
The Whites have lost out to Sunderland in the race for both Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki, and the next on their radar is Hoffenheim giant Anton Stach – having Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim in 2023.
How Anton Stach feels about a move to Leeds United
Stach is back in Hoffenheim pre-season training but according to German magazine Kicker, the 6ft 4in star is ‘underwhelmed’ at Hoffenheim’s pre-season with plenty of work required at the German club.
Leeds are interested in signing Germany international Stach, and Kicker say that while Stach is not openly flirting with a move, he is ‘considering it’ simply because he is concerned at Hoffenheim’s pre-season.
Hoffenheim narrowly escaped relegation last season, finishing in 15th of 18 teams and Stach may have been hoping for investment to push Hoffenheim clearer of danger – but that does not look forthcoming.
How much Leeds need to spend to sign Anton Stach
The issue Leeds are facing is that simply, they are a Premier League club who need to spend and have money to do so. What selling clubs are not encountering, is just how much Leeds do have to splash.
With £20m gone and that figure set to rise to near £30m with Gudmundsson, Leeds are having to spend wisely and target players in the final year of their contracts in order to get them cheaper than others.
Stach is another example of that, with Gudmundsson, Bornauw and Bijol all entering the last year of their deals. Also like Leeds’ four additions – if Gudmundsson signs – Stach is 26, and is well north of 6ft.
Reports from Florian Plettenberg in March state that a number of clubs are interested in Stach and a fee between £13m and £17m is required for Hoffenheim to sell. They don’t want to, but Stach is not happy.
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