Leeds United have confirmed their third signature of the summer transfer window with the arrival of centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw.
The newly-promoted Premier League outfit have agreed to pay VfL Wolfsburg €6m (£5.2m, $7.1m) for the 26-year-old.
Bornauw has signed a four-year contract at Elland Road and, at 6ft 3in, underlines United’s keenness to recruit tall and strong players this summer.
✍️ Welcome Sebastiaan!
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 1, 2025
Lukas Nmecha, Bornauw’s former Wolfsburg team-mate, and Jaka Bijol, a fellow centre-back, are 6ft 1in and 6ft 3in respectively.
The Belgium international began his career with Anderlecht and after only one senior campaign with the Brussels giants, FC Koln came calling from the Bundesliga. It only took two seasons in the German top flight for Wolfsburg to then swoop.
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United’s new recruit had four seasons at Volkswagen Arena and comes to West Yorkshire with 140 Bundesliga appearances to his name, as well as Europa League and Champions League exposure. He made his debut for Belgium in 2020 and has four caps to date.
Analysis
The noises coming out of Elland Road after promotion had suggested they would look for physically imposing players to keep them in the Premier League. All three of their new faces fit that bill.
On paper, Bijol and Joe Rodon are probably the strongest centre-back pairing, but in Pascal Struijk and, now, Bornauw, Daniel Farke has a strong quartet to choose from. Max Wober has long been expected to leave, while question marks may now hover over Struijk’s future.
If the Dutch defender were sold, it would ease United’s profit and sustainability (PSR) picture because of how little they paid for him in 2018. There have been no steers from the club to suggest Struijk, specifically, has to go, but outgoings are needed this summer to ease the PSR projections.
Like Nmecha, Bornauw has had injury issues in more recent times with Wolfsburg. At a sniff over £5million, Leeds will feel they have got great value for money, but they will need to keep him fit to see any benefit.
‘An obelisk-like centre-back’
Analysis from German football correspondent Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Bornauw had a terrible time with injury in 2024-25 and much like VfL’s season as a whole, just couldn’t seem to gain any momentum or confidence; he played fewer than 800 Bundesliga minutes.
With the squad in transition and now, after the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl, under new management, it’s not a surprise that — with a year left on his contract — he’s likely to leave.
Look beyond Bornauw’s recent injury difficulties, though. Fit and healthy, he is an obelisk-like centre-back.
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Not fancy, not likely to carry the ball past a pressing attacker or arrow a perfect ball onto a winger’s instep from 50 yards, but a cornerstone piece who seems to enjoy the physical aspects of the game and should have few issues competing in Premier League penalty boxes.
(Main image courtesy Leeds United FC)
This news was originally published on this post .
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