Leeds open talks to sign £17m star

Leeds United have added Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol, and Lukas Nmecha to their first-team squad during the summer transfer window so far.

The Whites have yet to address their options in the middle of the park, but they are reportedly closing in on a potential signing to do exactly that.

As you can see in the post above, Fabrizio Romano claims that the Championship champions are on course to seal a deal for Newcastle United central midfielder Sean Longstaff.

They have already agreed personal terms with the English dynamo and have a £12m bid on the table to bring him to Elland Road in the coming days.

If the move goes ahead as hoped, Longstaff will arrive in West Yorkshire to compete with the likes of Ao Tanaka, Ethan Ampadu, and Ilia Gruev for a place in the team in midfield.

Why Sean Longstaff is a sensible signing for Leeds

The 27-year-old star could be a very sensible signing, particularly at a relatively low fee of £12m, as an experienced and dependable squad option for Daniel Farke to select in the middle of the park.

Longstaff has played 171 times in the Premier League for the Magpies in his career to date, which shows that he knows the division and would be able to hit the ground running for Leeds, as an experienced operator at that level.

The £12m-rated star has scored ten goals and provided nine assists in those 171 matches in the top-flight, showing that he can also make an impact in the final third at times.

However, it is also worth noting that Leeds would be signing Longstaff off the back of a difficult season for the midfielder, who played a bit-part role for Newcastle in the 2024/25 campaign.

The Magpies academy graduate only started eight of his 25 appearances in the Premier League, and his underlying statistics do not suggest that he will be an outstanding signing for the Whites.

As you can see in the table above, Longstaff ranked lowly among his positional peers in several key statistics, although he did excel at making tackles and blocks.

These statistics suggest that the midfielder could be a solid and sensible option for Leeds, particularly in a holding midfield role where he can focus on making tackles and blocks, but he is unlikely to be a game-changing signing for Farke who delivers outstanding quality in all areas of the pitch.

According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, Leeds are also interested in a deal to sign Hoffenheim central midfielder Anton Stach this summer.

The reporter claims that the Premier League newcomers have already made contact with the Bundesliga side to discuss a potential transfer for the German giant, who stands at 6 foot 4.

Plettenberg adds that no official offer has been made to Hoffenheim by Leeds at this moment in time, though, so a deal is not as advanced as the one to bring Longstaff to Elland Road is.

The German journalist states that the 26-year-old midfielder has two years left to run on his contract with the Bundesliga outfit, as his deal expires in 2027, and that a transfer to the Whites is ‘possible’.

Ahead of the summer window, Plettenberg reported that Hoffenheim were set to demand a fee of up to £17m for their star midfield maestro, although it remains to be seen if that has changed.

Why Leeds should sign Anton Stach

The Whites should push ahead with a deal to sign Stach as well as Longstaff this summer because he would be an even better signing for the club if he can adapt to the Premier League.

Whilst the Newcastle man is a sensible and low-risk addition, as an experienced player in the English top-flight, the Hoffenheim star is a riskier signing with the potential for a greater reward.

If Stach can deliver performances akin to the ones he put on in the Bundesliga last season, the German colossus will offer far more to Farke’s team than Longstaff next term.

The chart above shows that the 6 foot 4 titan produced more quality in almost every facet of a midfielder’s game than the Newcastle ace did in the 2024/25 campaign.

The statistics in the table above further back this up, as Stach delivered more goals, more assists, created more ‘big chances’, and made significantly more defensive interventions per game on average.

His success rate in duels also shows that the Hoffenheim star is a strong midfielder who can compete physically, even more so than Longstaff, in battles on the ground and in the air.

Therefore, Stach could be a significantly better midfield option for Farke in the Premier League next season as he has the potential to offer more to the team in and out of possession, as a solid defender and as a creative midfielder.

However, the £17m-rated star is unproven in the Premier League, having never played in England before, and that is why signing him alongside Longstaff, an experienced English talent, could make a lot of sense.

Overall, Stach has the quality to be an even better signing than Longstaff for Leeds, but that does not mean that the Newcastle man does not have a vital role to play in the squad as a proven Premier League performer.