The 26-year-old, who has two international caps, has joined on a four-year contract. Stach becomes the sixth summer signing for Leeds, who were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season.
He follows Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lukas Nmecha and Sean Longstaff in joining manager Daniel Farke’s squad for the 2025-26 campaign.
“I am delighted to come to such a good team, such a good Premier League team, and I am already looking forward to the new season,” added Stach.
“My play, I would call myself an attacking player. I am strong in duels. I can predict the passes of the opponents, and it would be beneficial for the Premier League. Now we will see, I will give my best. Stach has already shared the pitch with fellow countryman Nmecha after the duo guided Germany to the European Under-21 Championship title in 2021.
He further said: “The biggest target is to remain in the league and individually just develop, adapt to the league, to the pace of course and then gain a lot of good experience hopefully.”
Stach moved from Mainz to Hoffenheim in 2023 and played 71 games for the team in two campaigns. He helped them stay in the Bundesliga last season as Hoffenheim ended the campaign in 15th place.
“Anton is a top player who has been putting in solid performances here at Hoffenheim for the last two years,” Hoffenheim sporting director Andreas Schicker said. He’s a fantastic individual, too, always placing himself at the disposal of the team and helping us to survive last season.”
Four of Leeds’ six signings are 6ft 1in or above, and head coach Daniel Farke is eager to bring both size and brawn into a team that secured promotion from the Championship last term.
Stach counts, having been among the Bundesliga’s best ball-winners over the last few seasons. He has tallied 120 interceptions, the most by any player in the top division of German football, and gained possession 393 times, the third highest number in the league. He is also fourth for attempted tackles and won duels.
His versatility will be an asset for Leeds as well. While deployed mostly as a holding midfielder by Hoffenheim, Stach started 2024-25 as a centre-back, only reverting to a more advanced position in November after the arrival of head coach Christian Ilzer.
Standing at 6ft 4in, Stach is an excellent aerial presence in both boxes. As Leeds also sign Jaka Bijol and Sebastian Bornauw – both 6ft 3in – as well as 6ft 1in Lukas Nmecha, the Yorkshire club will look to get a competitive edge next season when it comes to set-pieces, which are so crucial.
