On Sunday afternoon, Daniel Farke made one change to his Leeds United side to face Aston Villa, opting to keep Brenden Aaronson and Lukas Nmecha in the starting line-up.
It meant that Pascal Struijk was the only switch Farke made, replacing Jaka Bijol despite the Slovenian’s impressive performances during the November break. It means Bijol has now only started three times.
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Struijk produced a solid-enough performance, even if he was guilty of conceding the free-kick that led to Villa’s winner. Struijk had to dive in and make a tackle after Gabriel Gudmundsson made another mistake.
But with Struijk preferred to Bijol in nine of Leeds’ 12 Premier League games, and Leeds running out of money when it came to attacking reinforcements, it begs the question – did Leeds need to sign Bijol?
Aidy White questions decision to sign Jaka Bijol from Udinese…
Had Leeds not brought in Bijol, with the former Udinese man said to have cost north of £15m, or signed a cheaper alternative, Leeds would have had more cash to spend on what they really need, an attacker.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, former Leeds defender Aidy White questioned why the Yorkshire side spent so much on Bijol when he isn’t starting games and Farke continues to prefer Bijol in central defence.
“He’s obviously shown something at Udinese, really good international player, captain of his country, he’s obviously got something. He’s just not hit the ground running at Leeds United,” White said about Bijol.
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“This summer, we spent everything we could. Unequivocally, we are maxing PSR out this season. If we had gone on to other targets [on deadline day], the consequences would have been seen in the current roster. More key players from last season would have had to go.”
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“That happens a lot of times, not just at Leeds. The promise of a new signing is massive for fans, ‘oh wow, we’ve spent a lot of money on him, he’s going to be really good’. A lot of times it doesn’t work like that.”
Did Leeds waste all their money on the defence this summer?
It’s not just Bijol, though the defender is the most obvious example. A fee of £15m was splashed on the giant defender, while another £15m was spent on Sebastiaan Bornauw and versatile James Justin.
Bijol has started just a quarter of Leeds’ Premier League games while Justin and Bornauw are yet to earn a Premier League start at all. Bornauw has only made one appearance, coming in the Carabao Cup.
Had Leeds spent half of the £30m they splashed on the trio, on three slightly cheaper players, then they would have had a decent fee to spend on a new attacker. Perhaps, one like Wales star Harry Wilson.
Instead, Leeds are lacking in the final third, managing just 11 goals in 12 Premier League games and with a top scorer on just three. Even Jesse Marsch’s side had scored four more goals at this stage in 22-23.
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