The club's new £15.6m keeper who clearly becomes new first choice, the 27-year-old aiming to "transmit a sense of trust, security and calmness" between the sticks.placeholder image
The club's new £15.6m keeper who clearly becomes new first choice, the 27-year-old aiming to "transmit a sense of trust, security and calmness" between the sticks. | LUFC

£17.4m new signing's place in Leeds United's changed best XI and bench with different formation

Lee Sobot
By Lee Sobot

Leeds United writer

Published 22nd Jul 2025, 15:48 GMT

A £17.4m new signing has changed Leeds United’s strongest XI and bench.

Leeds United have shelled out £17.4m to land their sixth signing of the summer - again changing the team’s strongest XI and bench.

Hot on the heels of deals for Lukas Nmecha, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Sean Longstaff, Leeds unveiled German international midfielder Anton Stach as their latest recruit on Tuesday morning.

The 26-year-old has joined Leeds from Hoffenheim for €20m plus add-ons, signing a five-year-deal at Elland Road. His arrival is a highly significant signing and one that likely has big implications on the team’s strongest XI and bench at a time when Daniel Farke appears to be siding with a new system.

Here, as Stach settles into life as a Leeds player, is our idea of the new best starting line up and nine-man substitutes bench based on the player’s available to Farke and from what was learned from Saturday’s friendly against Manchester United.

Farke dropped big news after the game as he revealed that Patrick Bamford was not part of his Premier League plans...

Not an easy call bumping Aaronson down to the bench as it shouldn't be forgotten just how much Farke relied on the American last year. It's also probably fair to say that Aaronson starts in a 4-2-3-1. But given the shift to a 4-3-3 this summer and the abundance of centre midfielders it's probably the bench for the club's American boy.

19. Sub: Brenden Aaronson

Not an easy call bumping Aaronson down to the bench as it shouldn't be forgotten just how much Farke relied on the American last year. It's also probably fair to say that Aaronson starts in a 4-2-3-1. But given the shift to a 4-3-3 this summer and the abundance of centre midfielders it's probably the bench for the club's American boy. | Getty Images

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With Bamford out of the picture it's between Nmecha and Piroe for the 9 role at present and summer signing Nmecha's early showings have offered plenty of encouragement. That said, Piroe is probably still first choice striker - a position in which Farke also has young Harry Gray to consider with Bamford and Mateo Joseph now seemingly out of the picture.

20. Sub: Lukas Nmecha

With Bamford out of the picture it's between Nmecha and Piroe for the 9 role at present and summer signing Nmecha's early showings have offered plenty of encouragement. That said, Piroe is probably still first choice striker - a position in which Farke also has young Harry Gray to consider with Bamford and Mateo Joseph now seemingly out of the picture. | Getty Images

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