How Leeds plan to quickly replace Pascal Struijk

Leeds United supporters may have been left shocked and surprised when the news dropped on Saturday that Pascal Struijk is set to move on from Elland Road.

Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion have agreed a £20m deal with the Whites to sign the Dutch central defender this summer.

His current contract in West Yorkshire is set to expire at the end of the 2026/27 campaign, which means that the club would risk losing him on a free transfer if they opted against cashing in on him.

Struijk is said to want to explore a new challenge in his career, having spent his entire senior career at Elland Road to date, and he is now closing in on a move to Brighton.

It is a blow for Daniel Farke’s side because the left-footed defender started 33 of the club’s 38 matches in the Premier League last season, helping them to avoid relegation back down to the Championship.

Leeds United are in talks to sign Bundesliga defender

No player in the squad made more clearances than Struijk (207) in the top-flight in the 2025/26 campaign, and he ranked inside the top ten players in the division for clearances made.

As important as the Dutchman has been for Farke, the club are reportedly pursuing a player who could arrive at Elland Road as an even better centre-back option.

According to BILD, as relayed by Sport Witness, Leeds United are interested in a deal to sign central defender Nico Elvedi from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Whites have already made an offer of around £7.3m for the Switzerland international, which has been rejected by the German side, as Farke looks to reunite with his former defender.

It adds that Leeds are the only team in talks and making offers to sign the 29-year-old star, whose contract at Gladbach is due to expire at the end of next season.

This update does not reveal how much the Bundesliga side are willing to accept for the Swiss enforcer in the last year of his contract, or if the Whites are set to make another offer for his services.

Why Nico Elvedi would be better than Pascal Struijk for Leeds

There is no doubt that Leeds need to find a player who can instantly replace Struijk and hit the ground running in the Premier League next season, because of how important he has been to the team under Farke.

That is why signing an incredibly experienced defender, such as Elvedi, would be a smart move by the club, as he would not arrive at Elland Road as an inexperienced player who would need time to adapt and develop as a centre-back.

In fact, the 29-year-old star’s performances in the Bundesliga for Gladbach suggest that he could join as an even better option at the back than Struijk for Farke next season.

Elvedi outperformed Struijk in almost every key defensive metric at league level last season, and the one that stands out straight away is how many clearances he made in the Bundesliga.

Whilst the Leeds star ranked 10th in the Premier League for clearances made, with 207, the Switzerland international led the Bundesliga with a whopping 270 clearances in 34 appearances in the division.

The Whites should be fairly confident that he can carry his form over to the Premier League because he is a vastly experienced defender, with 318 appearances in the Bundesliga and 70 caps for Switzerland, which means that he has been there and done it at the top level.

His defensive statistics for Gladbach suggest that he would improve Leeds’ defence as a Struijk replacement by making more interventions to cut out more attacks from the opposition, whilst also being far more dominant in duels to win the ball back for his side.

Elvedi also completed 92% of his attempted passes in the German top-flight last season, compared to Struijk’s 88% in the Premier League, and could be a reliable player with the ball at his feet for the way that Farke wants his team to play.

Therefore, the Whites must make a second offer for the Swiss star in the coming days because bringing him in could soften the blow of losing the Dutchman.