Not Signed Him For Four Weeks – Daniel Farke Stresses Leeds Star’s Importance | OneFootball

Leeds United Official

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has made it clear that Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk’s performances have kept new boy Jaka Bijol away from the starting line-up, but insisted that the Slovenian has been signed with a long-term view.

Bijol became one of the earliest names to join the Whites in the recently concluded summer transfer window, after he arrived from Italian football.

The West Yorkshire side paid €22m to sign the Slovenia international from Udinese, but so far, he has not played a minute of Premier League football.

He played for Leeds in the EFL Cup against Sheffield Wednesday last month, but he is yet to step foot on a Premier League pitch.

Farke pointed out that Rodon and Struijk have been brilliant with their performances in the league, as Leeds have two clean sheets in four games.

He is clear that the already set centre-back duo are putting in brilliant performances and he can not select Bijol based on his salary or how much Leeds paid for him.

Farke, though, is completely convinced of Bijol’s quality as a footballer, and he stressed that the 26-year-old has been signed to be a mid to long-term part of the project at Elland Road.

“For 80 per cent of the clubs in the Premier League, if you sign a centre-back for £15m, it feels like a project, a fifth or sixth choice centre-back”, the Leeds boss said at a press conference when he was asked about Bijol’s absence.

“Of course, for us, it is a marquee signing, because we are 100 per cent convinced of Jaka, and I am also 100 per cent convinced.

“But it is not like there is already one name written in the starting line-up, just to his transfer fee, or salary, name or CV.

“It always depends on what happens on the pitch, in the games on the training pitch.

“I liked Jaka a lot during pre-season, but the fact is that he was not available for the first game day.

“Jaka missed more or less major parts of the last two pre-season games, and then he missed the first game.

“We had a really good performance from our centre-backs, we got nearly three clean sheets, also nothing much to moan about the Arsenal game, and I think Pascal and Joe were outstanding, and this is how professional football works.

“If you deliver, you keep your place; if you play poorly, a different player steps in.

“For Jaka, he had his first outing in the [EFL] Cup, more or less and also it is difficult because he had then four, five weeks without a game.

“But he is a really good player, he will be on the mid and long term, very, very important for us.

“We haven’t signed him for the first four weeks or first four months; we have signed him for mid and long term.

“He is at the top age, and for that we are really happy with Jaka.”

The Leeds defender has experience playing in Slovenia, Russia, Germany, and Italy, and he will now look to become a solid part of Farke’s Leeds side, though he looks like having to wait for his chance.

On Saturday, the Whites visit the Molineux to take on bottom-of-the-table Wolves, a game we have previewed here, and it remains to be seen if Bijol will be handed his Premier League debut.