1. FSV Mainz 05 confirmed the deal of Fabian Frei, who will join the Bundesliga club after 10 years playing for Switzerland's most successful club, FC Basel.
The player signed a four-year contract until June 2019. The details on the transfer fee are not yet known, but the majority of media outlets reported a transfer fee of around €5m - which is equal to his market value.
Geis replacement found immediately
Mainz have found an instant replacement for Johannes Geis, who joined Schalke 04 just a few hours beforehand.
The 26-year-old is a highly experienced player for the German club. He managed 235 Swiss Super League appearances, where he scored 29 times and assisted a further 42 goals. With FC Basel he also played 23 matches in the UEFA Champions League and 24 times in the UEFA Europa League.
Schmidt looking forward to working with Frei
Coach Martin Schmidt was delighted with the transfer, "Fabian Frei is a player who can not only improve our game, but every other player, with his technical and strategic qualities."
The Mainz manager also signalled that no more midfielders would be brought in, announcing "we have completed our plans for a top-class midfield".
Schmidt referred to Frei and Julian Baumgartlinger as "two outstanding midfield tacticians" and spoke of how it was "an earmark of quality" for the club to have two such players.
Sporting director, Christian Heidel, admitted: "We identified Fabian Frei at an early stage as our desired player for a position in midfield in case we needed changes."
He said that they were "happy to win him over". Heidel said that the new signing "will fit into out new team perfectly".
The Carnival club's sporting director detailed his attributes, saying he is a "defensively and offensively gifted, strong-willed and very experienced player, who has great strategic qualities and a very good vision of the game."
Fabian Frei himself said that he was "happy that the transfer went so smoothly", and that he is "really looking forward to the new challenge" of Germany's top flight.