Leeds United Sign Nico Elvedi from Borussia Monchengladbach

Leeds United have landed experienced Switzerland defender Nico Elvedi from Borussia Monchengladbach in a deal worth up to £8.5m, handing Daniel Farke a trusted lieutenant at the heart of his back line.

The 29-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Elland Road, ending an 11-year stay in Germany and reuniting with Farke, who coached him at Monchengladbach during the 2022-23 season.

“He is also a big point for this change,” the centre-back said of Farke. “It was just one year but I loved to have him as a manager. I learned a lot from him and I will learn a lot now.”

Monchengladbach accepted an offer worth an initial £6.8m, with a further £1.7m in add-ons, for a player who became a mainstay of their defence. Elvedi leaves having made 364 appearances for the Bundesliga club, a decade-long body of work that underlines his durability and status.

On the international stage, his pedigree is just as clear. Elvedi has 73 caps for Switzerland and played every minute of their recent run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, anchoring a side that again punched above its weight on the biggest stage.

For Leeds, this is a signing with both familiarity and authority. Elvedi becomes the club’s fourth arrival of the summer window, following goalkeeper James Trafford, winger Harry Wilson and fellow defender Tarik Muharemovic, as Farke quietly reshapes the spine of his squad.

His arrival has already triggered movement. Sebastiaan Bornauw has left Elland Road to join Hamburg on a season-long loan, freeing space in the defensive pecking order and underlining the trust being placed in Elvedi to step straight in.

There was more change at the top end of the pitch too. Earlier on Wednesday, striker Joel Piroe departed to West Ham on a season-long loan, a move that shifts the attacking options and adds another layer of intrigue to how Leeds will look once the window closes.

Farke now has a defender he knows, a leader with World Cup experience, and a dressing room that is starting to look unmistakably like his own. The question is simple: how far can this rebuilt Leeds side go with Elvedi marshalling the back line?