Today the club confirmed that we have completed the signing of left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille, and also that Sam Byram has extended his stay at Elland Road for one more year.
Gudmundsson joins us for a fee described as ‘undisclosed’ by the official site and ‘£10million’ by The Athletic, and he has signed a four year contract. After the departure of Junior Firpo he expected to be the first choice left back during the coming season, and the official site says he can also operate further forward on the left, though the stats suggest he is better doing his day job of defending.
He managed just the two goals and no assists last season, but in a difficult Premier League season his defensive prowess will be the priority, as we can’t afford to be too expansive against the quality of opposition we will be up against. The official site also say he can operate in central defence, should the four players we already have in those positions prove to be insufficient.
The Swede began his career with Halmstads in his native country, before moving on to the Netherlands to join FC Groningen. After two seasons in the Eredivisie he attracted the attention of Liile in 2021, and he has played nearly 150 games for the French club, nine of which were in last season’s Champions League.
The 26 year-old has also won 15 international caps for Sweden. And he sounded thrilled to be coming to Leeds when he spoke to LUTV. "It's been a dream for me to come to the Premier League and to sign for Leeds to be a part of that, it feels amazing. I was growing up watching the Premier League and obviously my father played there as well [Niklas Gudmundsson managed 6 games for Blackburn in the 1990s], so it's a bit of a connection there already”.
"My friends and family told me that the fan base is huge and also the stadium here is unbelievable as well with the fans shouting. I'm up for all the challenges and really looking forward to playing here in front of all the fans and with teammates and get to know everyone. I want to help the team with my qualities. That's what I think I came here to do, so with the experience I gained the last years, I hope to help the team with that.”
The club have also confirmed that Sam Byram has signed a one-year deal, and will be a back-up option in both the full-back positions. And he will also count as one of the ‘homegrown’ players we need to have in a squad of 25, as he began his career with the club. He still counts, even though he left the club for seven years before he came back.
And we are also signing defenders for the future, with the Athletic reporting we are close to an agreement with Manchester City to sign 17-year-old Jayden Lienou for a six-figure fee, though of course he will initially be joining the under-21 squad.
It’s good to see the club getting most of the recruiting done in good time this summer, before we start pre-season training, though we are said to be still on the lookout for a new goalkeeper, striker and ‘number 10’. Watch this space.