The club confirmed today that we have completed the signing of Anton Stach from TSG Hoffenheim, but this evening the Athletic are reporting that Matteo Joseph has asked to leave.

26-year-old Anton Stach has joined the club as our sixth signing of the summer, subject to international clearance and a work permit, and has signed a four-year contract. His fee has been described as ‘undisclosed’ by the club’s official website, but ‘in excess of £17.3m’ by The Athletic.

The midfielder has made over 250 career appearances in all competitions in his career so far, having won promotion from 2. Bundesliga with Greuther Furth, then representing Mainz 05 and TSG Hoffenheim in the German top flight. He also has two German caps to his name. But the most quoted stat about him is his height, at 6 foot 4 he is even taller than our previous signings of this window, which takes some doing.

And of course, he was making all the right noises when he spoke to LUTV. “I am excited to join such a good team, such a good Premier League team, and I am looking forward to the next season. My style of play, I would say I am an aggressive player. I am good in duels. I am good at anticipating passes from the opponents and it would be good for the Premier League.”

“I am really excited to play at home with the fans because I think the fans are really good here and as well away. I want to feel the atmosphere because I heard and I saw so many videos of the fans, the parade last year over 150,000 people in the city. I think that is awesome. That is crazy when the team has a connection to the city. And I think then when you have fans like this, the fans get you some points as well in the league.”

I wasn’t expecting us to sign quite as many central midfield players, as I thought there were other positions which were more of a priority. And it raises the question of which of them will be the first choice when the season starts, especially when Tanaka reminded us of his quality at the weekend, so he will be hard to leave out.

Our transfer business isn’t done yet, as the word is that we are after Feyenoord winger Igor Paixao, and Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz. We’ve already had a bid of £26m plus a possible £6m in add-ons turned down by the Cottagers, so it remains to be seen if we go back with a better offer.

Many fans on social media think we also need a playmaking ‘number 10’, though the players we’ve bought so far might indicate we’re prioritising the physical side of the game, perhaps plying Tanaka further up the field to fit them all in. But now that were in the land of the giants it would be handy if we could exploit our height advantage at set pieces by finding a player who can deliver a good ball into the box.

The pursuit of a new striker is undoubtedly behind the decision to tell Patrick Bamford that his time is up, and for all Farke’s talk of him being to good to be a mere backup, it’s likely that the main issue is that his wages are too high for a player who won’t be getting that many minutes. And tonight it seems likely that Matteo Joseph will follow him out of the exit.

The Athletic have reported that Mateo Joseph has asked to be excused from the club’s pre-season training camp in Germany, and that Daniel Farke has accepted his decision. He will only be allowed to leave when another club meets our valuation of the striker, but Real Betis have made several bids for Joseph already this summer, and seem to be his most likely destination.

Farke is quoted as saying “He came to me, and to us, and said he wants a new challenge and would like to have a move. He has also hinted he prefers a move to Spain due to his Spanish roots and, yes, that was more or less his call. We just want players who are excited about the project to play with Leeds United. I just want players who want to be here and are buzzing.

It’s likely that Farke isn’t fighting too hard to keep Joseph because he didn’t manage to grasp the opportunity given him twelve months ago when we thought he was ready to establish himself as our main striker. He scored only three goals in the Championship, and things would only be harder for him in the Premier League.

He seems to me more highly regarded in Spain due to his record with the country’s under 21 side, with 8 goals in 12 appearances. The transfer fee will be another reason why the club won’t be too disappointed to see him go, as almost all of it will count as profit, so will help us with the dreaded PSR calculations as we overhaul the squad.

There will be yet more transfer activity to come before the end of August so watch this space!

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