'Let's see' - Teammate shares what he knows about Jaka Bijol's future amid Leeds United transfer interest

Udinese and Slovenia midfielder Sandi Lovric is desperate to keep teammate Jaka Bijol at the Stadio Friuli amid strong transfer interest from Leeds United.

Bijol emerged as a possible target for Leeds over the weekend and on Monday, the YEP confirmed interest in the 26-year-old defender. Elland Road chiefs are believed to have made their move in recent days and are very hopeful of luring their defensive target to the Premier League, with Udinese wanting between £18-19million.

For now, Bijol is away on international duty and will likely feature against Bosnia and Herzegovina this evening, having played 90 minutes on Friday as Slovenia beat Luxembourg 1-0. As is the case at club-level, Lovric will be in front of him and hopes to keep it that way beyond this summer at the Stadio Friuli.

"Having them [Bijol and reported AC Milan target Lorenzo Lucca] still with us would be important because we are talking about very important players,” Lovric said, as quoted by Tuttomercato. “We are talking about two starters, but I don't know what they will do this summer. But for now they are still our players. Let's see what happens.

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“The club certainly needs to make a leap in quality and there is little doubt about that. In recent years we have shown that we can compete with everyone and win even against the big teams in Serie A. In Italy, however, it is not easy because there are many clubs aiming for Europe. It will be difficult to get into the top seven, but if we raise the general level, everything becomes possible.”

What would Leeds United be getting from Jaka Bijol?

While there is still some way before a deal can be confirmed - not least the fact the transfer window closes for six days from this evening - 49ers Enterprises have generally been efficient once targets are actively pursued. And so it’s interesting to see what Leeds might be getting if a move goes ahead.

Despite still being only 26, Bijol has bags of experience under his belt with more than 200 top-flight appearances to his name through spells in Slovenia, Russia and Italy - he also spent a season on loan at German second-tier side Hannover 96. He has been at Udinese since 2022 and played regularly across all three years, with 95 appearances across all competitions yielding five goals.

A lot of that goalscoring threat comes from set-pieces, with the 6ft 3in Bijol considered one of Europe’s most aerially dominant and aggressive centre-backs. And despite being right-footed, the defender is equally comfortable on his left and can operate on either side, with a great range of passing to boot.

Speaking recently to Gianlucadimarzio.com, Bijol addressed his own future, admitting: “They are just rumours and in Italy there are always a lot of them. But it is also true that I feel ready for this next step, let's see if it starts this summer. In football you never know. I am grateful to Udinese who have given me so much and I am happy in Udine. But I would like to make the leap.”

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