New Leeds United star had ‘concerns’ about Elland Road move, Daniel Farke won him over

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Leeds United made 10 signings in the summer, and a handful of those have already made a real impact in Daniel Farke’s fight to keep the club in the Premier League this season.

For those 10, it was brace to move to Yorkshire. For the last two seasons in the Premier League, all six promoted sides have been relegated and there was no suggestion that things would possibly change.

However, after 10 Premier League games this season, none of the promoted three sides currently reside in the bottom three places. Sunderland are flying high under Regis Le Bris, sitting in a lofty seventh place.

Leeds and Burnley have been more pragmatic and sit in perhaps, more realistic final positions. Leeds are 16th after losing to Brighton, while Burnley are in 17th after a home defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.

• READ MORE: Remember Jay-Roy Grot? He scored his first hat-trick since leaving Leeds on Sunday

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	ArsenalArsenal	10	8	1	1	18	3	15	25
2	Manchester CityManchester City	10	6	1	3	20	8	12	19
3	LiverpoolLiverpool	10	6	0	4	18	14	4	18
4	BournemouthBournemouth	10	5	3	2	17	14	3	18
5	TottenhamTottenham	10	5	2	3	17	8	9	17
6	ChelseaChelsea	10	5	2	3	18	11	7	17
7	SunderlandSunderland	9	5	2	2	11	7	4	17
8	Manchester UnitedManchester United	10	5	2	3	17	16	1	17
9	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	10	4	4	2	14	9	5	16
10	BrightonBrighton	10	4	3	3	17	15	2	15
11	Aston VillaAston Villa	10	4	3	3	9	10	-1	15
12	BrentfordBrentford	10	4	1	5	14	16	-2	13
13	NewcastleNewcastle	10	3	3	4	10	11	-1	12
14	FulhamFulham	10	3	2	5	12	14	-2	11
15	EvertonEverton	9	3	2	4	9	12	-3	11
16	LeedsLeeds	10	3	2	5	9	17	-8	11
17	BurnleyBurnley	10	3	1	6	12	19	-7	10
18	West HamWest Ham	10	2	1	7	10	21	-11	7
19	Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest	10	1	3	6	7	19	-12	6
20	WolvesWolves	10	0	2	8	7	22	-15	2

Anton Stach tells German media he had ‘concerns’ over move

Anton Stach was Leeds’ most-expensive buy at £19.9m from Hoffenheim. Noah Okafor was second at £18m while goalkeeper Lucas Perri cost £15.6m to come in from Lyon. Stach has made a solid start.

The Germany international scored in pre-season against Okafor’s Milan, won a penalty against Everton and netted a free-kick against Wolves. But a broken finger and rib have seen him drop out recently.

Discussing his move to Leeds in the summer from Hoffenheim, Stach told Kicker that he has concerns over a move to Leeds given promoted sides had been relegated. But, a chat with Farke changed that.

“It [a German manager] played a very important role, I wanted to take the right next step. Being able to speak German with him was an advantage. The Premier League had always been a dream of mine.

“I told him about my concerns and demanded his honest opinion. Leeds are a newly promoted team, and we’ve seen in recent years that promoted teams tend to get relegated again immediately,” Stach said.

“Playing in the Championship isn’t my goal, of course. It was a really open and honest conversation. He answered many of my questions well, and I had a very good feeling about it afterwards,” he continued.

Anton Stach admits other teams wanted to sign him

Stach was the star of the Hoffenheim show, controlling things in the middle of the park and helping them avoid relegation with a 15th-placed finish out of 18 sides. Hoffenheim sit sixth so far this season.

But Stach was a man in demand in the summer and while Leeds managed to snare his signature, Farke’s side were not the only team interested in doing a deal to land the lofty German from Hoffenheim.

Indeed, Stach was asked by Kicker if there were any alternatives. He replied: “They existed, but I won’t reveal them.” The midfielder has been a sub in the last two games, but could start at Forest on Sunday.