£17m Leeds star is their best signing since Raphinha

Leeds United supporters rejoiced when The Athletic’s Phil Hay turned up to cover the club’s Premier League clash with Burnley at Elland Road on Friday night.

After 18 seasons of covering the Whites through various outlets, Hay announced his decision to move away from reporting on the club in the summer of 2024, moving on to different projects for The Athletic.

The well-loved reporter had three goals and three points to cover against the Clarets, as Leeds moved onto 43 points in the Premier League this season.

Daniel Farke‘s side are now seven points clear of the relegation zone with three matches left to play, which means that they will be in the top-flight again next term unless there is a ridiculous series of results across the league in the next few weeks.

After covering the Marcelo Bielsa era of Leeds in the Premier League, it was pleasing to see Hay cover the latest team to excel in the top tier at Elland Road.

The best player of Phil Hay’s Leeds United era

In his 18 years as a Leeds United reporter, it is hard to look past Brazilian star Raphinha as the best player that played for the club during those years.

The Whites played three seasons in the Premier League, three seasons in League One, and 12 seasons in the Championship in those 18 years, so most of his tenure was spent, with all due respect, watching players who were not ready for the top level of football.

Raphinha, though, was certainly ready for the big time. He scored 17 goals and created 22 ‘big chances’ in 65 appearances in the Premier League for the Whites.

The Brazil international, who joined from Rennes for £17m, produced the most goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in the team across those two seasons, which were the only two campaigns that Leeds survived in the top-flight during Hay’s coverage.

Raphinha was then sold to Barcelona for a club-record fee of £55m and has racked up 73 goals and 59 assists in 175 games for the Spanish giants since then.

Given what he achieved at Leeds, the fee he was sold for, and his form since moving to Barcelona, the Brazilian attacker has to be considered the best player and, therefore, the best signing of Hay’s time covering Leeds.

Leeds United’s best Premier League signing since Raphinha

Now, after returning to cover the club’s clash with Burnley last week, Hay has put forward Anton Stach as a strong contender to be Player of the Season.

The reporter claims that Stach, Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all have cases for being the best player at the club, and describes the German as a ‘physical specimen’ who can play with both feet.

It is hard to argue against the £17.4m signing from Hoffenheim being the best signing and best player of the season because of how impressive his performances have been in and out of possession.

The 6 foot 4 star ranks highly within the Leeds squad in a host of key statistics, particularly when it comes to creating chances, which illustrates how influential he has been in the Premier League.

Stach has also been aerially dominant, as you would expect of a 6 foot 4 midfielder, by winning 63% of his aerial duels in the division, along with 50% of his ground duels.

He has been an even better signing than Calvert-Lewin because of his ability to impact matches in and out of possession with offensive and defensive qualities, whilst the centre-forward is mainly focused on finding the back of the net.

Stach, who is already loved by Hay, is also two years younger than the English striker and may have more to offer Farke’s side in the mid-to-long term, whilst being more attractive to potential buyers.

The Germany international has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water and played a pivotal role in the club’s pending survival this season, and would be a worthy winner of the Player of the Season award.

With all of this in mind, Stach has to be considered the club’s best signing since they bought Raphinha in 2021 because he looks like a star at the top-flight in the same way that the Brazilian talent once was.