Their own Rice: £17m Leeds signing now looks like a future £100m star

No one was more aware of the difficulty that comes with being promoted to the Premier League than Leeds United boss Daniel Farke last summer.

The German head coach was relegated with Norwich City in the 2019/20 campaign and was sacked in October in their 2021/22 relegation from the top-flight, failing to keep them in the division after winning the Championship title on two occasions.

However, Norwich never spent more than £9m on a single player and did not spend more than £1m on any permanent signing in 2019 after their first promotion under Farke, which shows that he was not given enough backing to succeed in the top-flight.

After winning 100 points in the second tier in the 2024/25 campaign, there may have been doubts over whether or not the ex-Norwich boss had the ability to lead a team to safety, because of his struggles at Carrow Road.

However, the Whites had resources that Farke never had in East Anglia and they used their money incredibly wisely with a clever recruitment model.

How Leeds’ recruitment model hit the jackpot

A clear theme throughout the club’s recruitment work in the last summer transfer window was that they looked to improve the physicality of the squad.

In Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leeds brought in a mobile striker who can run channels and a powerhouse number nine who can duel with centre-backs and cause problems for physical defenders.

Jaka Bijol and Sebstiaan Bornauw, who are both 6 foot 3, were also signed to bolster Farke’s options in the centre-back positions, adding more height to the squad, which was also the case with Sean Longstaff, 6 foot 2, and Anton Stach, 6 foot 4, in midfield.

Even Noah Okafor, the tricky left-winger signed from AC Milan, is 6 foot 1 and brings pace and physicality to the team on the wing for the Whites, rather than being a lightweight attacker who is easily bullied by defenders.

Leeds rank fifth in the Premier League for aerial duels won per game (18) and none of the teams in the top nine in that particular statistic are in the relegation zone, and that may be a trend that the club identified last summer.

Their recruitment model based around physicality has worked so far, as the Whites are six points outside of the relegation zone, but their signings also needed to have quality on top of physicality, which is where they have really hit the jackpot.

Leeds have a big-money star in the making

One of the club’s signings from last summer’s transfer window has been a star in the Premier League this season, and looks like their own version of Arsenal’s Declan Rice.

Anyone familiar with the England international’s heroics for the Gunners against Real Madrid from set-piece situations in the Champions League last season will know where this is headed.

Anton Stach scored his third free-kick of the Premier League season in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa last weekend, making him the first Leeds player to score three direct free-kicks in a season since Ross McCormack in the 2013/14 campaign.

Arsenal made Rice their club-record signing when they paid £105m to sign the central midfielder from West Ham, and Stach’s performances this season suggest that he is Leeds’ first £100m player in the making.

The Whites spent £17m to sign the 6 foot 4 titan from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim last summer, which made him one of the club’s most expensive ever signings.

Leeds United’s most expensive signings of all time

Who is the Whites’ record signing?

If you compare his performances to the Arsenal star’s displays this season, there is not a significant difference in their output defensively or offensively, despite the fact that the English midfielder plays for the league leaders.

25/26 Premier League	Rice	Stach
Appearances	27	22
Goals	4	4
Assists	4	3
Tackles + interceptions per game	3.0	2.7
Dribbled past per game	0.4x	0.4x
Duels won per game	4.0	5.0
Aerial duel success rate	71%	64%

Stach, who was described as an “incredible find” by journalist Josh Bunting, has scored as many goals as Rice and been dribbled past the same number of times per game on average.

Both central midfielders, who operate as box-to-box stars, are also dominant aerially and make plenty of tackles and interceptions per match to go along with their offensive contributions.

Stach hit the ground running in the Premier League and has proven that he has both the physical and technical attributes to be a star in the division, particularly given how similar his performances have been to a player who was bought for £105m.

If the German colossus continues to perform at his current level in the Premier League, Leeds may have their first-ever £100m player on their hands, as they have never sold anyone for more than the £55m that Raphinha was sold to Barcelona for in 2022.

Teams may be willing to pay big money for the 6 foot 4 star if he can continue to show that he has the ability to be as impactful as Rice, a £105m-rated player, in and out of possession in the league.