Jaka Bijol arrived at Leeds United from Udinese in June. The 26-year-old defender was very well thought of at the Italian club.
He’s been with them since arriving from CSKA Moscow in 2022 and had built up a bank of respect with his performances. Not only that, there’s a a lot of respect for Bijol as a person, subsequently making the fanbase appreciative of the defender.
Excitement was also encouraged in Slovenia by the transfer to Leeds United. Naturally, the defender is highly rated in his home country and the Premier League multiplies everything.
However, so far the 26-year-old hasn’t had a minute of football in the competition. He was unavilable for the first match, due to a red card suspension from Italy. Daniel Farke hasn’t wanted to change Pascal Strujik and Joe Rodon since then, which is understandable.
Slovenia manager Matjaž Kek has named his latest national squad and appeared at a press conference. He was inevitably asked about Jaka Bijol’s situation at Leeds United.
The manager understands Farke’s thinking, even if it isn’t great for the Slovenia national side.
Ekipa quote Matjaž Kek as saying: “This is also about the red card from Italy, which was why he was not in the coach’s first plans. The team is starting to play well, they are not conceding goals, why would he change? Add to that an unfortunate match in the cup and things have come together like this.
“To get through here, you have to be both mentally and physically at the highest level. Jaka told me well three weeks ago: ‘The Premier League, this is something special, something different.’
“He has to get used to it, adapt and at a certain point have a little luck too.”
