Isaac Schmidt became Leeds United’s eighth and final summer signing in the final few hours of deadline day after the club had already completed a move for Japan star Ao Tanaka.
A move to land 24-year-old Schmidt had already been wrapped up prior to Thursday night, before Schmidt took to the field for St. Gallen one last time as he helped his old side qualify for Europe.
Scoring a goal, Schmidt played a key part in the Swiss side’s qualification for the Conference League group stages with St. Gallen winning on penalties against Turkish SuperLig outfit Trabzonspor.
Arriving in Yorkshire in the early afternoon, Schmidt went on to complete a medical at Leeds before signing on the dotted line just after 8.30pm on deadline day, less than three hours before the deadline.
Leeds video shows Schmidt reaction to walking out at Elland Road
The full-back arrives for an initial £2.5m but a move could see St. Gallen receive a £4.6m fee in total, if certain add-ons are met. They are likely to be performance-based, and whether Leeds are promoted.
LUTV posted a video of the behind-the-scenes action on deadline day which saw Tanaka sign the night prior, before Schmidt’s deal and then Wilfried Gnonto also putting pen to paper on a new Leeds deal.
At 8.45 of the 13-minute long video, Schmidt is seen walking out of the Leeds tunnel and onto the pitch before delivering a simple four-word verdict on Elland Road: “Damn. Woah. It’s beautiful”.
Schmidt also reacted to new Leeds kit in home dressing room
In a video that includes Gnonto reuniting with Schmidt after the two met in the Swiss Super League and Gnonto handing Schmidt his new no.33 shirt, the new signing also walks into the home dressing room.
Schmidt takes a long hard look at the current squad shirts hung up in the dressing room before pointing to Ethan Ampadu’s no.4 shirt and double-checks, asking if the Wales star is the captain of the club.
He then delivers his verdict on the Leeds home shirt during the latest offering from LUTV (8.30), saying “the jersey is really beautiful”. Schmidt will be hoping to play a part against Burnley on September 14.
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