'I think' - Leeds United's Anton Stach outlines stance on European football and makes Jurgen Klopp admission
Anton Stach has discussed Leeds United’s target for the season ahead - and his international ambition
Anton Stach believes it is a “bit early” for Leeds United to be dreaming of European football.
After clinching the Championship title, Leeds staved off relegation and secured a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League.
Second-season syndrome is very real, but excitement for the campaign ahead has been built by some ambitious transfer business.
Leeds have paid a club-record £40m fee to sign goalkeeper James Trafford from Manchester City and forked out £34m for Bosnia & Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović. They have also landed winger Harry Wilson, a target from the summer of 2025, on a free transfer from Fulham.
Anton Stach’s stance on Europe
“I think Europe is a bit early,” he told Leeds Live. “Of course, everybody can dream, but for us, the start is important.
“We look from match-to-match. This is more important. The biggest goal for us is to stay in the league. Of course, still now we are not newly-promoted, but the second season is also hard to be in the best league in the world.
“So this is where our eye is first. So not about Europe or something, and then we see how the season develops.”
Anton Stach’s international ambition
Stach may not be setting his sights on Europe with Leeds just yet, but Euro 2028 is firmly on the midfielder’s mind.
He returned to the Germany fold earlier this year, yet there was no place in the nation’s World Cup squad for the 27-year-old.
Stach is now looking to impress former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who has been named the new head coach of the German national team.
“Yeah, 100 per cent it (Euro 2028) is a target,” he said. “The World Cup was my target also.
“I think I played a pretty good year, but at the end, the coach chooses his team, and it's fine for me.
“And now I can give everything to let the new national coach pick me, and this is the only thing I can do. And so I need to be fit. I need to be good. I need to be ready. And this is what I want to show.”