Udinese chief sends heartwarming message as Leeds United sign Jaka Bijol
Jaka Bijol is finally a Leeds United player, with his signing officially announced on Monday.
The centre-back joined the Peacocks from Udinese, where he enjoyed a successful spell in Italy, after what felt like weeks of waiting.
Bijol had been labelled as one of the best centre-backs outside the Serie A’s top six clubs, and is expected to play a massive role for Leeds this season.
Now, the Slovenian international will attempt to adapt to Daniel Farke’s style of play before the end of pre-season, set for his biggest year yet.
Udinese technical director Gokhan Inler wishes Bijol ‘the best’
While Leeds are rightly overjoyed that they have signed Bijol, it is a crushing loss for Udinese.
The centre-back had been vital to the Italian side last season, and he played 37 matches in all competitions.
Therefore, many Udinese fans are likely to be gutted over the 26-year-old’s move to Elland Road.
| Jaka Bijol’s Udinese career | |
| Appearances | 95 |
| Goals | 5 |
| Assists | 4 |
However, Udinese technical director Gokhan Inler does not hold any ill will towards the defender for pursuing a move to the Premier League.
Talking to TV12 via Tutto Udinese (26 June), the former Napoli and Leicester City midfielder believed that the Slovenian international deserved the move.
He said: “In my opinion, he deserves it, because already a year ago, there was a lot of talk about him.
“The coach and I really wanted him to stay, but that’s football. I wish him the best. He’s already done well this year; he’s also grown into a leader.
“He’s a good guy, and he’ll also come by to say hello before starting his new adventure.”
Farke has to target more defenders for Leeds this summer
Now that Bijol has been signed by Leeds, Farke cannot stop here in the transfer market.
It is already clear that the Peacocks need a left-back this summer, with Junior Firpo looking set to depart when his contract expires on 30 June.
On top of this, further reinforcements at centre-back would not go amiss. The Premier League is extremely challenging for any newcomer, and there is no guarantee that anyone is going to be able to perform to standard.
Therefore, it would do Farke no harm to look for an additional centre-back to ensure Bijol has a quality back-up.
Hopefully, this will prove to be enough to subdue many of the Premier League’s attackers and help Leeds grind out multiple victories throughout the season.
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