Leeds United Sign Nico Elvedi in £8.5m Deal with Daniel Farke

Leeds United have moved decisively in the market, landing Switzerland defender Nico Elvedi from Borussia Monchengladbach in a deal worth up to £8.5m.

The 29-year-old centre-back has signed a three-year contract at Elland Road, rejoining Daniel Farke after the pair worked together in the Bundesliga during the 2022-23 season. For Elvedi, that connection mattered.

“He is also a big point for this change,” Elvedi 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 of £6.8m up front, with a further £1.7m in add-ons, bringing an 11-year spell in Germany to an end. Elvedi leaves having made 364 appearances for the club, a mainstay in their defence across domestic and European campaigns.

On the international stage, his pedigree is just as clear. Elvedi has 73 caps for Switzerland and played every minute of their run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, underlining the level of experience now dropping into Farke’s back line.

Elvedi becomes Leeds’ fourth signing of the summer window, following the arrivals of James Trafford, Harry Wilson and fellow defender Tarik Muharemovic. His signing has already triggered movement in the opposite direction: Sebastiaan Bornauw has left Elland Road for Hamburg on a season-long loan.

The reshaping of the squad did not stop there. Earlier on Wednesday, striker Joel Piroe departed to join West Ham on a season-long loan, as Leeds continue to remodel under Farke with a familiar defensive leader now at the heart of it.