Leeds United ‘feeling confident’ at how new Daniel Farke signings will turn out

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Leeds United have pleasantly surprised their fans with a solid start to the Premier League campaign as they look to survive after their promotion last season.

The West Yorkshire club spent three seasons in the top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch from 2020 to 2023, slowly slipping down the table as the seasons progressed before eventual relegation.

After two years in the Championship, they’re back in the big time and looking to retain their former status as an established Premier League club once again under Daniel Farke, who himself is looking to prove he can manage successfully at the top level.

And with a decent summer transfer window behind them, TBR Football’s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has stated that the club are happy with how their new signings have turned out in a bid for survival.

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Leeds ‘pleased’ with Premier League start as new signings shine at Elland Road

The Whites signed no fewer than 10 new players in the summer, with all of their signings being aged between 25 and 28, opting for experience and prime performance as a blend.

It seems to be working so far. Wins over Everton and Wolves have shown they are not in the Premier League to make up the numbers.

That is down to some solid recruitment, with Leeds taking inspiration from Red Bull’s system in Germany, which has brought them various players from the Bundesliga.

And TBR Football’s Graeme Bailey has stated that the club have ‘a lot of confidence’ in any incoming player from Germany, as well as those from elsewhere. Bailey said: “With the Red Bull scouting network that Leeds can now lean on, there’s a lot of confidence in the players they sign — especially those coming from Germany.

“[Anton] Stach has come in and done a solid job; he’s been one of the standout performers so far. His performances have maybe overshadowed the fact that [Brenden] Aaronson and [Ao] Tanaka haven’t quite hit the same level yet, but players like Longstaff and Stach have helped cover that.

“They’re also very happy with [Gabriel] Gudmundsson at left-back and with [Sean] Longstaff’s contributions.

“All in all, most of the new signings have done a job. The centre-half they brought in from Udinese, [Jaka] Bijol, hasn’t really had his chance yet because [Pascal] Struijk, [Joe] Rodon and [Ethan] Ampadu have all been playing well.

“Leeds know they’re still short in a couple of areas, but they’re pleased with how things have gone. Realistically, they don’t think they could be in a much better position right now. Maybe they could have beaten Bournemouth, but equally, they could have lost that one.

“They’re putting up a real fight, and if they finish around 15th, they’d be absolutely delighted. Two wins at this stage is fine — expectations were never for a top-six finish.

“They’re satisfied with their progress, and if they reach January in good shape, they’ll look to do smart business to make sure they stay up.”

Leeds are aiming to buck the trend of promoted teams heading straight back down, with Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton doing so in 2023/24, before Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton all following suit last time around.

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Anton Stach has been Leeds’ standout performer

Whilst a few of Leeds’ new stars have been impressive, none more so have taken to the Premier League in the way that Anton Stach has.

The imposing midfielder joined from Hoffenheim, where he spent two seasons in the Bundesliga after joining from Mainz.

In his first six games, Stach was an ever-present, and announced himself to the league with one of the goals of the season so far against Wolves, a long-distance free-kick that set Leeds on their way to their second win of the campaign.

Per FBREF, Stach has the most progressive passes in the Leeds team, the third-most progressive carries and the best successive tackle percentage, and so he’s already been a top signing for Farke.

At just 26, he’s coming into his prime and he could see more Germany caps, after winning two whilst playing for Mainz.