Nico Elvedi spent Saturday afternoon at the City Ground in a tracksuit, watching the back three he had been signed to strengthen keep Nottingham Forest out without him. Three days into his Leeds United career, the Swiss defender was an unused substitute as Anton Stach’s late free-kick won the Premier League opener 1-0. Four days on, the Whites are back in Nottingham for the Carabao Cup — and this time Daniel Farke has all but held the door open.
Elvedi is in line to make his Leeds debut in Tuesday night’s second-round tie at the City Ground, 8pm kick-off. Farke confirmed at Monday’s press conference that his latest signing could feature, with Willy Gnonto, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Ilia Gruev all still unavailable and a second competitive fixture in four days making rotation inevitable, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post. For a £8.5m centre-back who arrived a week ago, that is a fast route into the side.
What Daniel Farke said about Nico Elvedi
Farke used his Carabao Cup press conference to flag the debut and to confirm that his injury list has not grown since Saturday. “As far as I’m aware there are no new injuries,” the Leeds boss said. Gnonto is still working back from the hamstring problem he picked up in the pre-season friendly against Manchester United in Dublin, Gudmundsson from the hamstring injury sustained against Liverpool in America on 2 August, which was thought to be a four-week absence. Gruev, meanwhile, needs “another couple of weeks” after the meniscus injury he suffered towards the end of last season.
That is three senior men out of a squad about to play its second game in four days, in a competition where Farke is chasing a first third-round appearance as Leeds boss. The maths point one way.
Farke knows exactly what he is getting
Elvedi is not a gamble on a stranger. The 29-year-old joined permanently from Borussia Mönchengladbach on 19 August on a three-year contract, an initial £6.8m rising to £8.5m with add-ons, and he played under Farke during the German’s spell at the same club. A Switzerland international with 73 caps, he is right-footed but has been used across all three centre-back roles, which is precisely the flexibility a manager wants when he is picking a back three every week.
He was recruited as cover for Sebastiaan Bornauw, who left on a season-long loan to Hamburg, and he wears No.30 in the squad list published last week. Leeds had agreed the deal ahead of Premier League rivals and got him registered in time to sit on the bench at Forest. The next step is the pitch.
Who makes way in the Leeds back three
Farke opened the season with Tarik Muharemović, Jaka Bijol and Joe Rodon as his three, James Justin at left wing-back and Jayden Bogle on the right. All five got through 90 minutes on Saturday, and Farke has a squad to protect across a long season.
The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Kyle Newbould expects Elvedi to come straight in, predicting the Swiss alongside Justin and Muharemović in a reshuffled three with Rodon and Bijol rested, James Trafford continuing in goal and Daniel James pushed up to right wing-back. That is a prediction rather than a team sheet. But with three players injured, a fit new signing who knows the manager, and a competition Farke wants a run in, the direction of travel is clear enough.
Forest, for their part, are in worse shape: Oliver Glasner is without Morgan Gibbs-White, Ryan Yates and Nicolò Savona. Elvedi, then, may get his first taste of English football against a home side missing its best player, on a ground where Leeds won three days earlier. Worse introductions have been arranged.
