Crewe boss Dario Gradi has snapped up experienced Frenchman Julien Baudet on a three-year contract.

The 27-year-old, who has had spells with Oldham, Rotherham and Notts County since arriving in England in 2001, is a player that Gradi and assistant manager Neil Baker have been monitoring for some time.

They first saw him as a midfielder during his spell at Oldham, although he will be used exclusively as a defender by Crewe, and he impressed during scouting missions to check on County's Kelvin Wilson, who has since joined Preston.

Baker said: "We've seen quite a bit of him because we were looking at (Kelvin) Wilson. We've spoken to a lot of people in the game about him and they've said good things about him.

"He's a leader which we don't have too many of and hopefully he can be that dominant centre-half we've been looking for."

Meanwhile, Baker is hopeful of positive news as the Alex close on two more centre-halves. One of the un-named players is available on a free transfer while the other is currently under contract elsewhere.