Leeds United believe Jaka Bijol has a key role to play this season despite the evident lack of playing time for the Slovenian international.
According to Football Insider, Leeds United are not concerned about Bijol’s future despite his limited game time this term. Daniel Farke continues to rate the Slovenia international highly and believes he will play an important role in the team this season, quashing speculation surrounding his immediate future.
Leeds United had a decent summer window, with Daniel Farke ensuring that key areas were strengthened, including the backline. The German manager tends to use a back three, which allows plenty of game time for his defenders and is probably the main reason behind the considerable investment in new defensive players.
Tarik Muharemovic was the major arrival from Sassuolo, with the defender already establishing an important place in Farke’s defensive setup. The other signing was Swiss international Nico Elvedi, with the former Borussia Monchengladbach defender also playing a key role in Leeds United’s impressive start to the season.
Those two defenders have been responsible for several players from last season being benched for prolonged periods, including the €22 million signing Jaka Bijol. The Slovenia international joined Leeds United from Udinese and made 25 appearances for the club as they finished in a respectable 14th place following promotion to the top flight.
Leeds United are not worried about Jaka Bijol
The new arrivals have made Bijol a bench option this season, with the defender playing only four times, including two starts. There are already concerns behind the scenes about the role he might play this term, which could lead to transfer approaches in January.
However, Leeds United believe Bijol will receive plenty of game time moving forward, as he continues to retain the faith of Farke and his coaching staff. The fact that Leeds United tend to use three defenders always opens the possibility of regular minutes, even if he does not always start.
In the context of the entire season, there is an expectation that Bijol will play a similar number of games to last season. The need for constant rotation should lead to regular minutes for the struggling Slovenian defender, as the club are currently not worried about a potential transfer midway through the season.
