The elephant in the Leeds United transfer room is that they need to sign a new central defender before the Premier League campaign kicks off next month.
Pascal Struijk £20m move to Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion dealt Daniel Farke‘s side a blow, as they do not have any naturally left-footed centre-backs in their squad.
The Dutch defender, who spent over six years at Elland Road, started 33 matches in the top-flight for the Whites in the 2025/26 campaign, which speaks to how important he was to the team.
However, signing a direct replacement for the former Ajax prodigy may not be the only business that the West Yorkshire outfit look to do in that position in the coming weeks.
Why Leeds need to sign two new centre-backs
Leeds recruited to play in a 4-3-3 formation in the summer transfer window last year after they earned promotion to the Premier League, but Farke ultimately ditched that set-up to play a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 shape, which led to them avoiding relegation.
|
Leeds in the 25/26 Premier League |
|
|---|---|
|
Formation |
Games deployed in |
|
3-5-2 |
12 |
|
4-3-3 |
12 |
|
3-4-2-1 |
6 |
|
5-4-1 |
3 |
|
3-4-1-2 |
2 |
|
3-1-4-2 |
1 |
|
4-1-4-1 |
1 |
|
4-5-1 |
1 |
Favouring a three-at-the-back formation, though, means that the Whites need more options in the centre-back positions, because the likes of James Justin and Ethan Ampadu had to fill in at times when there were not enough bodies available.
Losing Struijk means that Leeds are down a left-sided centre-back whilst also needing more depth to cover the middle and right-sided roles in the back three.
Whilst Ampadu can play as a centre-back, as he did for most of the 2023/24 Championship season, his best and favoured role is as a defensive midfielder in front of the backline.
Therefore, signing a right-footed defender who can cover the other positions in the defence as well as bringing in a direct replacement for Struijk on the left side should be on the agenda for the Whites in the coming weeks.
Leeds ready to sign Ampadu and Stach hybrid
Farke and the recruitment team seem to agree with that suggestion, as they are now looking at a player who could be like a mixture of Ampadu and Anton Stach in the centre-back position.
Football Insider reports that Leeds United are expected to submit an offer to sign Borussia Monchengladbach central defender Nico Elvedi in the summer transfer window.
The outlet claims that the Whites are set to ramp up talks over a deal to bring the Switzerland international to Elland Road now that his country have been knocked out of the World Cup, losing 3-1 to Argentina at the weekend.
It adds that the Swiss star has opened the door to a move to West Yorkshire and is hopeful that the two clubs can reach an agreement, because he is keen on a transfer to the Premier League side.
|
Most clearances in 25/26 Bundesliga |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Clearances |
|
Nico Elvedi |
270 |
|
Patrick Mainka |
261 |
|
Luka Vuskovic |
251 |
|
Willi Orban |
243 |
|
Leopold Querfeld |
220 |
The 29-year-old star, who has been valued at £8.5m, ended the 2025/26 Bundesliga season with the most clearances in the entire division, which speaks to his experience and quality, as he knows exactly where to be positioned to cut out attacks.
Leeds have already hit the jackpot once with a signing from the Bundesliga in the form of Stach, who scored five goals and provided three assists in 29 appearances in the Premier League last term.
Alongside his impressive clearances, Elvedi won 67% of his ground duels and 56% of his aerial battles in the Bundesliga last season, which shows that he is a physically dominant defender who could make the same transition that Stach did from Germany to England.
As well as potentially being another brilliant addition from the German top-flight, the Switzerland international could be Farke’s next version of Ampadu because of the positional versatility that he could bring to the fold.
The experienced star primarily plays as a centre-back for club and country, but he has played as a defensive midfielder, as a left-back, and as a right-back in his career.
Farke could use him in a variety of options, therefore, and it would not be a signing that limits Leeds to playing in a three or five back, as their aforementioned list of formations proves that the German likes to mix things up.
Elvedi could play in any of the three roles in a back three, as a full-back in a back four, or as a sitting midfielder in front of the defence, much like Ampadu.
Leeds must now push to get a deal done for the £8.5m-rated talent in the coming days because he could be like a mixture of Stach and Ampadu to become a successful signing for the Whites.
