Who is Jaka Bijol? The £19m Udinese defender Leeds United are 'very hopeful' of signing

Leeds United have made their first moves of the summer transfer window with Udinese defender Jaka Bijol identified as a top target.

Reports in Italy over the weekend suggested there was interest from Elland Road in Bijol, who Udinese value around €20million (£16.9m), and the YEP understands Leeds are in for the centre-back. Indeed, club chiefs are very hopeful of luring their defensive target to the Premier League, albeit he is expected to cost slightly more, possibly up to £19m.

Bijol has emerged as one of Serie A’s most impressive and consistent defenders in recent years but outside of Italy and his native Slovenia, many aren’t fully aware of him. And so as Leeds zone in on an early transfer target, the YEP has all you need to know below.

Who is Jaka Bijol?

Bijol is a 26-year-old right-footed centre-back who has just completed his third year at Udinese, all of which have seen him start regularly. All in all, the defender has played 95 games across all competitions for the mid-table Italian side, scoring five goals.

Those 95 games for Udinese make up a decent portion of Bijol’s vast experience at club-level, with more than 250 games under his belt across spells in Italy, Russia, Germany and Slovenia. The defender began his senior career at Rudar Velenje in his home country but spent just one season in the first-team before being picked up by Russian giants CSKA Moscow in 2018.

Watch ‘Leeds United: We Are Premier League’ in full now including exclusive interviews with YEP football writers Graham Smyth and Joe Donnohue

He spent three of his four seasons at CSKA Moscow playing regular football, with a loan spell at German second-tier side Hannover 96 also bringing 31 appearances, before that 2022 move to Udinese. Bijol has also been a regular feature in the Slovenian national team, winning 61 caps since his debut in 2018.

What kind of player is Bijol?

Standing at 6ft 3in, it could be seen as simplistic to label Bijol a physically dominant defender but he is certainly that. In fact, the Slovenian is viewed as one of Europe’s most aerially dominant and aggressive centre-backs, a strength which naturally gives him set-piece threat too.

According to data from FBRef, Bijol won 3.31 aerial duels per 90 minutes last season, which places him in the top six per cent of Serie A defenders. That average is also considerably higher than Joe Rodon, who won an average of 2.59 aerial duels per game in the Championship, while Pascal Struijk won 3.6 - albeit in the second-tier of English football.

But Bijol is also much more than a battling defender and has a truly impressive passing range, something which has proven important at Leeds via the skillset of Struijk or Ethan Ampadu. Interestingly, while Bijol is considered right-footed, he is almost equally as strong with his left, therefore allowing him to play comfortably on either side.

What has Bijol said about his future?

While the YEP understands Leeds are hopeful of securing a move for Bijol, nothing is guaranteed but club chiefs will no doubt have been encouraged to hear their target comment on his future recently. The centre-back is also thought to be a target for Roma and AC Milan and having played 90 minutes of a 1-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday, he addressed speculation on his future.

“Does Milan want me? We are talking about a truly great team,” he told Gianlucadimarzio.com. “But I don't want to talk about it now, my focus is on [Tuesday’s] match with Bosnia. 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.”

Your next Leeds United read: Dream XI if rumours are true as Bijol, Muniz and Hamer sign