Leeds United have 10 players on international duty currently, with the Whites represented globally ahead of the trip to face Fulham this weekend.
Four Leeds United players are with Wales: Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon, Charlie Crew, and Dan James. Ilia Gruev and Gabriel Gudmundsson are with Bulgaria and Sweden respectively.
🌍 From Astana to Swansea, ten Leeds United players are set to represent their national teams over the September break
— Leeds United (@LUFC) September 2, 2025
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Rory Mahady is with Scotland U-21s, Isaac Schmidt of Switzerland has also headed out, and Jayden Lienou is with Wales’ U-21 team. The likes of Noah Okafor and Brenden Aaronson were not called up, however.
Jaka Bijol is the final player, and many of them are taking part in UEFA’s World Cup qualification game. His Slovenia side are in a difficult group with the Swiss, but also Sweden and Kosovo.
Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty ImagesJaka Bijol’s performance against Switzerland
Leeds signed Bijol on a five-year contract after our suggestion right at the start of the summer window that Leeds should look at signing Bijol from Udinese.
That was before the genuine links emerged between Bijol and Leeds. In the end Leeds paid around £15 million to sign Bijol but the 26-year-old is yet to play in the Premier League.
Bijol is adamant he will come good for Leeds but one disappointing cup performance against Sheffield Wednesday is the only action he has had since moving to Leeds.
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Instead, the current international break is an opportunity to build confidence, rhythm, and sharpness for players like Bijol. It’s at this level where most Leeds fans got their first taste of Bijol as well.
Bijol’s insane aerial dominance was on full display when Slovenia played England at the Euros last summer. However, their qualification campaign for the World Cup has not gone well thus far.
Slovenian media have already reacted to Bijol vs Sweden but a damaging 3-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland was last night’s showing.
Bijol started at centre-back in a back four as the left-sided centre-back. He stayed on for the full 90 minutes of his side’s hammering. Per FotMob, Bijol was handed a 5.6 rating — the joint-lowest of any starting player.
The Leeds new-boy struggled to get to grips with powerful Switzerland forward Breel Embolo throughout and he came away from the game with a 4.5 rating, per SportsDunia.
The reporter on duty said: “Seemed to be at the heart of Slovenia’s defensive collapse. He gave away the corner for the first goal and struggled immensely with the physicality of Embolo.
“He committed four fouls and looked rattled throughout. Easily the worst performer on the pitch.”
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesJaka Bijol’s view of the end of Leeds’ transfer window
The giant warrior of a centre-back has had another knock to his confidence and he can’t quite catch a break right now, following two difficult fixtures during the break.
That said, he seemed upbeat prior to the Sweden and Switzerland defeats. Bijol has explained the mood at Leeds following the failure to sign anyone on deadline day or for many of the days building up to it.
He explained: “All the guys are full of confidence, also because of our previous achievements. We know we can play with anyone. We are ready for a tough opponent. If we help each other, we are confident we can stop them.”
He will be desperate to get back to West Yorkshire and to break into Farke’s plans more meaningfully by cementing his place as one of the starting central defenders.