One of Europe's best

Stats correct as of 22 July 2025

Anton Stach
Age: 26 (born 15 November 1998)
Club: Leeds United
Position: Defensive midfielder
Country: Germany (two caps)

Key stats

Taking the tourist route to the top, Stach did the rounds in the lower leagues, turning out for Osnabrück, Jeddeloh and Wolfsburg's reserves before Greuther Fürth took a gamble on him at the start of 2020/21. The gamble paid off: Stach played 30 games as Fürth were promoted with the third-meanest defence in the division.

Called up to the Germany U21s during that time, Stach helped Stefan Kuntz's men to UEFA European U21 Championship glory in Hungary and Slovenia last summer, featuring in five of their six games on the way to the title.

It was Mainz who gave Stach his Bundesliga debut, though. One goal, three assists and seven clean sheets in 21 games later - 13 of them starts - and he found himself in Hansi Flick's Germany squad for March 2022 friendlies against Israel and the Netherlands, making his debut in the 2-0 victory over the former.

Watch: Anton Stach earned his first Germany caps whilst at Mainz

Stach made 68 competitive appearances for Mainz, before moving to Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim in September 2023. He's become a midfield mainstay in Sinsheim, only missing a handful of games through injury or suspension, whilst registering three goals and six assists across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns.

Statistically, the 6'4" midfielder ranked third for successful passes and distance covered, as well as second for challenges won at Hoffenheim last term. He was also in the 93rd percentile for interceptions (1.65 per 90) and 99th percentile for clearances (3.65 per 90) among players in Europe's top five leagues.

Plays a bit like: Stefan Effenberg

A strapping midfielder who used to play further forward but now anchors his club side's play, Stach has more than a little in common stylistically with former Germany great Stefan Effenberg.

It has been a while since Germany has had a midfielder just as adept at the dirty work as anything else, with FIFA World Cup 2014 winner Sami Khedira perhaps the last.

Did you know?

Stach comes from a sporting family. Both of his sisters are professional basketball players, while father Matthias is a qualified sports scientist who commentates tennis and, on occasion, football.

He even commentated one of Anton's games at the UEFA U21 Euros, saying "Don't embarrass me, boy!" live on air. Needless to say, the younger Stach didn't.

What they're saying

"Anton is an excellent player who has produced consistent performances here at Hoffenheim over the last two seasons. He's also a great guy who's always worked for the team and helped us stay up last year. We would've liked to continue working with Anton, but he sees the next step in his career at Leeds." - Andreas Schicker, Hoffenheim managing director for sport on Stach's move to Leeds

"He didn't have such an easy time here at Werder when he was at boarding school. He was a bit behind his peers physically when he was young, but in my opinion he already had a very strategic disposition in his game and was incredibly goal-oriented and ambitious." - former coach Florian Kohfeldt reflecting on Stach's early days at Bremen.

"Anton Stach will probably come as a surprise to many. He's doing a very good job in Mainz. He's not the finished product yet and still has room for improvement. But he already has a high quality that we can use in the team." - Flick on Stach's call-up