Jaka Bijol looks set to become the next new signing at Leeds United this summer, after Lukas Nmecha became the first.
Leeds United have signed Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer, with the striker becoming the first of likely many names arriving at Elland Road this summer.
Daniel Farke has plenty to do in the transfer market following his side’s title-winning 2024/25 season in the Championship, with comings and goings expected.
But Nmecha marks the start, and now it looks like we might have a second new signing lined up in Udinese and Slovenia defender Jaka Bijol.
After a couple of weeks of intense links between the two, Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Bijol from Udinese, in an £18.75million deal.
Leeds United new boy Jaka Bijol made his name with Slovenia at Euro 2024
Bijol, 26, began his career in his native Slovenia with Rudar Velenje. He joined CSKA Moscow in 2018 and after four years there was snapped up by Udinese, going on to make 95 appearances for the Italian club. But it was with Slovenia at Euro 2024 where he really made his name.
Slovenia memorably reached the Round of 16 that tournament. They were knocked out on penalties by Portugal, whilst England reached the final but lost against Spain. Bijol earned huge praise that tournament, especially after holding firm against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in a game that finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of football.
Speaking after the game, Bijol spoke positively of Ronaldo, but insisted that he and his Slovenia teammates had him completely under control: “He’s obviously one of the greatest players of all time and he’s still in form, too. You can still see his hunger for goals. I really respect the fact that he always wants to score in every game, and that he wants to win every game. I think that’s one of the things that make him so great.
“But our whole team managed to contain him and everyone had a really good game against Portugal. And we weren’t just good without the ball, we were also very good with it. It was definitely one of our best performances since I’ve been with the national team.”
Bijol was snubbed for the Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament. But WhoScored‘s Team of the Tournament featured the centre-back, who was Slovenia’s only player in the side.
Leeds United signing Jaka Bijol has had links to England in the past
After his strong showing at Euro 2024, Bijol quickly became hot property. He had links to both Nottingham Forest and Inter Milan last summer, with links to Inter quickly gathering a lot of speed at the time.
Speaking last summer, former Udinese boss Gabriele Cioffi heaped praise on Bijol, explaining how he was ready to play for Inter and giving an insight into the kind of defender he really is.
Cioffi said: “He’s already ready for Inter. He’s intelligent. He works hard. He’s an extremely positive guy.”
Cioffi also described Bijol as “physically strong,” before going on to add: “Given his size he’s not the fastest – but he’s not slow either.
“He’s a defensive player. He definitely needs to be in the right context to be at his best. At Inter I would see him playing well as the central defender in a back-three.”
Three reasons why Jaka Bijol is a quality signing for Leeds United
Jaka Bijol is at a good age to really kick on
Bijol already has 63 caps for Slovenia. He’s gained some incredible experience with his national side and with Udinese in Serie A too, arriving at Leeds United with a good platform to go and build on.
At 26 years old as well, there’s an argument that Bijol is yet to come into his prime years. He’s at an ideal age to come and test himself in the Premier League and if he succeeds, then in a couple of years, Leeds could have a very valuable asset on their hands.
Jaka Bijol isn’t breaking the bank for Leeds United
Reports state that Leeds United have a £150million transfer budget this summer. And we’ve seen reports that Leeds could spend up to £50million on the likes of Rodrigo Muniz, so for Farke, bringing in key players like Bijol for reasonable prices is vital.
At less than £20million, Farke still has plenty of room in the budget for more new signings at Leeds United this summer.
Jaka Bijol gives Daniel Farke defensive flexibility
Cioffi’s comments above are very interesting. He believes that Bijol is best-suited in the middle of a back-five whereas Farke plays with a back-four.
Expect Bijol and Joe Rodon to be the partnership next season with Rodon the passer and Bijol the more physical presence. But having a player like Bijol now allows Farke the option to play a back-five, which could come in handy when playing some of the Premier League’s more dominant teams next season.
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