Huge Leeds United transfer boost as 'personal terms agreed' with £17m midfielder after Sean Longstaff — YEP 16/7/25

By Kyle Newbould

Leeds United appear to be zoning in on midfield reinforcements with just over one month until their Premier League return.

Leeds United appear to have taken a big step forward in their pursuit of Anton Stach amid reports the midfielder has agreed personal terms on a move to Elland Road.

The YEP exclusively reported on interest in Stach almost three weeks ago, with Leeds identifying the ball-winning midfielder as a prime candidate to add the kind of physicality and experience Daniel Farke desires. The 6ft 4ins German international is considered one of the best ball-winners in the Bundesliga and is expected to attract interest from several possible rivals.

Leeds missed out on £47million pair Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki to Sunderland but still saw the Hoffenheim midfielder and Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff as viable transfer targets, with a £15m agreement reached in principle for the latter this week. And now Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has provided an update on Stach.

In a post on X, Plettenberg claims that, as appears to have been the case with Longstaff, Leeds have agreed personal terms with Stach while continuing negotiations with his current club Hoffenheim. No agreement has been reached as of yet, with the Bundesliga club thought to want around €20m (£17.35m) plus add-ons.

Hoffenheim are said to have received enquiries from other clubs regarding Stach but the agreement of personal terms is a big boost for Leeds, with the 27-year-old seemingly open to the move. When the YEP first reported on interest earlier this month there was a belief inside the club any potential move would be a more drawn-out affair, and so there is still likely some way to go.

Leeds United hard at work as transfer business intensifies

Leeds chiefs have shown an ability to work in near-silence when it comes to transfer negotiations since 49ers enterprises took full control two years ago, but that appears to have become harder following their newfound Premier League status. Indeed, the YEP understands the public nature of their interest in Stach has not been particularly helpful when it comes to negotiations.

They did, however, manage to submit three bids for Longstaff before the rejection of their third - a package worth £12m in total - was reported in the media. Then after a week of relative quiet, reports emerged of a £15m agreement in principle on Tuesday evening, evidence that a lack of media leaks is not suggestive of a lack of work going on behind the scenes.

Longstaff is now expected to become Leeds’ fifth summer signing and there is hope Stach can join him in a well-rounded midfield unit. Farke lost loan star Joe Rothwell at the end of his deal but has brought club captain Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka up from the Championship title-winning side.

The latter trio are expected to get their first taste of pre-season football this weekend when Leeds face Manchester United in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. The Whites will then head to Germany for a second consecutive summer before games against Villarreal and AC Milan at Elland Road and the Aviva Stadium in Dublin respectively.