Jaka Bijol seems to be the player Leeds United want to throw their weight behind when it comes to signing a centre-back this summer – as the Udinese star looks for a transfer.
Paraag Marathe has set aside a £150m transfer budget for Daniel Farke to spend this summer. Leeds are looking to improve in four key areas – by signing a new goalkeeper, centre-back, midfielder and striker.
While it is still up for debate who Leeds will try to sign in midfield, up front and between the sticks, it is becoming clearer that the key target for Leeds at centre-back is Udinese’s Slovenian defender Jaka Bijol.
Leeds have begun contacts to sign £17m-rated Bijol from Udinese after three excellent seasons in Serie A in which Bijol has played a key part in Udinese’s aim to consolidate and remain in Italy’s top flight.
Bijol has stated he is open to a move this summer with Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma and Juventus also being linked. Leeds are planning to intensify negotiations for Bijol next week, ahead of a busy few weeks.
Jaka Bijol’s impressive record alongside Leeds icon Marco Silvestri
Marco Silvestri played for Leeds for three years between 2014 and 2017, before being told to leave due to the arrival of Rob Green. After four years at Verona following his Leeds exit, he joined Udinese in 2021.
A year later, Silvestri was joined by Bijol and the two played together 47 times for Udinese. It saw Udinese finish in 12th place in 2022-23, which saw Bijol and Silvestri combine for 34 of their 47 matches together.
| Combination | Team | Games | Clean Sheets | GA | Minutes per G+A | Wins |
| Bijol and Silvestri | Udinese | 47 | 14 | 58 | 70.1 | 12 |
The two clocked up an impressive 14 clean sheets together during that run of 47 games, and conceded 58 goals. It includes wins over Inter Milan, Roma and AC Milan during that run as Bijol made his mark.
What Marco Silvestri has said about new Leeds target Jaka Bijol
During that impressive 2022-23 season, Silvestri was earning praise for his performances and was even touted with an Italy call-up. But when discussing his form, he paid tribute to Bijol for his defensive form.
Telling Udinese’s website, Silvestri said in October 2022: “Jaka Bijol is doing really well and gives the team reassurance. I think we’re doing brilliantly defensively. I’m so pleased with the cover in front of me.”
Bijol is now much more experienced with more than 250 club appearances to his name and an impressive 62 caps for Slovenia despite still only being 26 years of age. If Leeds need a centre-back, Bijol is the man.
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