Jaka Bijol is yet to make his Premier League debut for Leeds United following the £15million move from Udinese, and the Slovenian looks to be a bit out of match practice.
Jaka Bijol was the first real statement signing at Leeds United this summer. In the end, Leeds paid £15million to sign Bijol from Udinese, and it looked like he’d walk straight into the starting XI.
But the Slovenian international was suspended for Leeds United’s opening game win over Everton. Pascal Struijk partnered Joe Rodon and Struijk put in a good performance.
Making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in a Carabao Cup defeat, Bijol had a tough night on his first game for Leeds and he’s not enjoying such a positive international break with Slovenia either.
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Slovenian media criticise Leeds United’s Jaka Bijol
The international break comes at a good time for Bijol who needs to get some minutes into the legs. He’s started and finished two World Cup qualifiers so far, with Slovenia drawing 2-2 with Sweden and then losing 3-0 against Switzerland.
National media said Bijol had a tough game against Viktor Gyokeres’ Sweden. Slovenian outlets also criticised Bijol’s performance against Switzerland, which by all accounts was a very tough outing for Bijol who made a number of errors in the defeat.
One outlet, Dnevnik, even claims that Bijol is refusing to admit that a lack of game time at Leeds United is behind his poor performances for Slovenian this month. They write that ‘Bijol refuses to admit that not playing in Leeds had consequences’, adding of his performance against the Swiss: “Although he refuses to admit it, his lack of play in Leeds is noticeable.
“After bravely competing in the air and on the ground with excellent, fast and powerful Swedish attackers, he spoiled a brilliant performance with a mistake with a poorly judged ball that ended with Sweden’s second goal. In Switzerland, he fell into the average of the entire team, but was not to blame for any goals. He fluctuated between mistakes and good passes.”
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What Jaka Bijol has said about his tough start at Leeds United
Speaking in an interview with Slovenian media at the start of the international break, the 26-year-old Bijol spoke about his start to life at Leeds United, insisting that he’ll eventually come good after a slow start.
He explained: “Two games on the bench is no big deal. I haven’t had a real chance to earn minutes at Leeds yet. Give me a little more time to show what I can do.”
It’s still very early doors for Bijol who looks like a longer-term investment from the 49ers. But Daniel Farke would’ve wanted to see some more positivity in Bijol’s performances this week, whereas Bijol hasn’t looked confident at all.
It doesn’t bode all that well ahead of the player’s return to Thorp Arch. It may be that Farke sticks with Rodon and Struijk for as long as possible, though expect Bijol to eventually get his chance to show what he can do in the Premier League.
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