{"id":581731,"date":"2025-11-20T03:27:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T03:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/581731\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T03:27:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T03:27:21","slug":"how-leeds-united-can-unleash-jaka-bijols-potential-at-elland-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/581731\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leeds United can unleash Jaka Bijol’s potential at Elland Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leeds United<\/a> have a selection dilemma at centre-back. Jaka Bijol<\/a> replaced Pascal Struijk last month, but hasn\u2019t exactly proven why in his performances.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s very clearly a systemic issue with Leeds\u2019 performances<\/a> at the moment in the Premier League, but individuals have to be accountable as well.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s back four and midfield have lost their previously resolute shape, and it\u2019s leading to the same goals being conceded every game at the moment. <\/p>\n

Most Read on LeedsAllOver<\/p>\n

Should Jaka Bijol keep his place for Leeds United at the moment?<\/p>\n

After defeat to Burnley, Pascal Struijk came in for more criticism. I was one of the many thinking that it was time for a change<\/a> to bring summer signing Jaka Bijol into the side<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A somewhat shaky performance against West Ham didn\u2019t stop him from recording victory in his Premier League debut, but it stood out away to Brighton and Nottingham Forest.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jaka Bijol was made to wait until October to make his Leeds United debut in the Premier League. (Action Images via Reuters\/Lee Smith)<\/p>\n

The Slovenian was tasked to play out from the back in a similar manner to Struijk, but lacked the same elegance. Noticeably, Farke\u2019s setup pushed Bijol into avenues where he was forced to play with his weaker left foot, leading to Leeds losing the ball often.<\/p>\n

Against Aston Villa this weekend, there\u2019s scope to suggest Struijk should be reinstated. Farke wants his centre-backs to progress the ball a lot, and Struijk is our best option there. That, plus the fact that Bijol hasn\u2019t represented an improvement in how he defends his penalty area either.<\/p>\n

Away from Elland Road, Bijol is demonstrating real consistency at the heart of Slovenia\u2019s defence. In spite of failing to qualify for the World Cup next year, Bijol helped them to a fourth draw in qualifying this week.<\/p>\n

A 1-1 draw with Gabriel Gudmundsson\u2019s Sweden brought another strong review from Slovenian outlet Ekipa<\/a>. They were seriously impressed as Bijol captained the side.<\/p>\n

\"\"Leeds United\u2019s Jaka Bijol in action for Slovenia against Sweden. (Pontus Lundahl\/TT News Agency via REUTERS)<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWith the captain\u2019s armband around his left arm, he was as solid as a wall, impenetrable,\u201d the report reads. \u201cHe won the vast majority of the matches, blocked some dangerous shots from the Swedes, and was excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Obvious solution for Leeds United to get the best out of Jaka Bijol<\/p>\n

So far, Bijol is not showing the qualities at Elland Road that justify paying \u00a315million<\/a> for his services. He\u2019s not yet proving to be the player we expected was joining from Udinese. Nor is he the player that is thriving for his country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference, then?<\/p>\n

A key component of his performances for Slovenia are that he\u2019s not playing on the left side of a back four, as he is under Farke. Instead, he\u2019s the central centre-back in a back three.<\/p>\n

In the process, Bijol is being protected from his lack of pace by plenty of cover either side. But, he\u2019s also not being forced to shoulder a lot of the burden in possession.<\/p>\n

For two years, Farke has leaned on Struijk\u2019s influence in possession a lot. So, to throw Bijol into that same role on his weaker foot is doing him a disservice. A better way to get the best out of him would be shifting to a back three, getting Struijk and Joe Rodon in alongside him.<\/p>\n

Leeds\u2019 creative threat at the moment largely comes from Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle too. Therefore, it lends itself to United having a 3-5-2 formation in their locker. That would also allow Noah Okafor to give support much closer to Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front.<\/p>\n

Read more: Daniel Farke has no excuses but to bring this Leeds United star back in\u2026<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leeds United have a selection dilemma at centre-back. Jaka Bijol replaced Pascal Struijk last month, but hasn\u2019t exactly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-581731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-leeds","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115579902265699117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}