Leeds United's Anton Stach is 'weird', 'crazy', and a source of great hope for next season

Because Leeds will be playing in next season's Premier League.

It might take West Ham United losing to Arsenal next Sunday to confirm, or a Leeds draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the next day. It might take longer still to satisfy the mathematicians, but Friday's 3-1 win over Burnley was job done.

All the goals were scored by summer signings. All have been great additions to kick Leeds away from the Clarets, who finished level with them on 100 points last season.

Noah Okafor's sixth in his last seven league games and Dominic Calvert-Lewin's first in open play since February 6 wrapped up the win, but Stach's long-ranger after eight minutes scuppered already-relegated Burnley's unadventurous plan.

"Sometimes it's hard to play against sides like them," said the German. "They are very compact, very structured, so I think it was very good to score an early goal."

From there, Leeds controlled the game, Stach playing like a man possessed on his first start since an ankle injury at West Ham in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

"When you're out for two-and-a-half weeks, it's a lot of work to come back and it was nearly one of the most intense first halves for me in my career," he reflected. "I just tried to hit it (his goal) as hard as possible and it was right in the corner."

Stach has brought so much to Elland Road on and off the field.

"He's a bit weird and crazy guy and he gets lots of stick from myself," commented Daniel Farke, his manager and compatriot. "He can be a bit sleepy and cheeky and weird at times, but he delivered quality performance from the first day.

"He's so competitive at this level. This is remarkable because he has to sit with the big dogs in the centre of the park and be competitive physically. He has to run our game technically.

"He always delivers unbelievable workloads in terms of distance. He delivers top set-pieces, he delivers goals, he delivers assists. Top mentality, strong in the duels.

"He's definitely one of our best players at this level.

"What's his best position? Wherever I need him!

"He can play like a No 10. Although it looks a bit like a mixture of Peter Crouch and something else, he is bloody effective.

"He's outstanding in the pressing. He's also good for second balls, sometimes with a key pass. He's a threat in the opponent's box.

"We have some other type of players, but he can play everywhere, especially in the centre of the game.

"I like to have him involved in many duels and with many touches.

"I also like him in the deeper role when he has a bit more space in front of him.

"It's great to have such a versatile player in the squad."

Farke's belief has been important to Stach settling in, in his words "straight from the beginning".

"He trusts me, he puts me in and thinks I can make a change in the game, it's amazing what the manager has done for me," he said.

Now he needs to win Julian Nagelsmann's trust that he can be part of Germany's World Cup squad.

"Yeah, the World Cup is of course still a big target," he admitted. "It's not far away, a few weeks.

"I'll try to get some good performances on the pitch and then the coach has to decide."

The trouble with staying in the Premier League is you immediately have to kick on again, and Leeds will have to recruit well this summer.

But Stach, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin and others give plenty of hope that they can.