Jaka Bijol

Jaka Bijol
Bijol with CSKA Moscow in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-02-05) 5 February 1999
Place of birth Vuzenica, Slovenia[1]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Leeds United
Number 15
Youth career
–2014 Dravograd
2014–2017 Bravo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Rudar Velenje 30 (3)
2018–2022 CSKA Moscow 81 (6)
2020–2021 → Hannover 96 (loan) 30 (0)
2022–2025 Udinese 90 (4)
2025– Leeds United 27 (1)
International career‡
2014 Slovenia U16 4 (0)
2015–2016 Slovenia U17 10 (1)
2016–2017 Slovenia U18 9 (2)
2017 Slovenia U19 2 (0)
2017–2018 Slovenia U21 4 (0)
2018– Slovenia 73 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 June 2026

Jaka Bijol (born 5 February 1999) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Leeds United and the Slovenia national team. Initially a defensive midfielder, he switched to his current position in the 2021–22 season.

Club career

On 22 June 2018, CSKA Moscow announced the signing of Bijol on a five-year contract from Rudar Velenje.[2] On 18 September 2020, Bijol was loaned out to Hannover 96 for one year.[3]

On 14 July 2022, Bijol was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a five-year contract for a reported transfer fee of over €4 million.[4] In November 2023, he suffered a foot injury and was sidelined for over two months.[5]

After three years with Udinese, for whom he made 90 league appearances and scored 4 goals,[6] Bijol transferred to Premier League outfit Leeds United in June 2025, signing a five-year contract with The Whites.[7] The transfer fee was reported at approximately €21 million, making him the second most expensive Slovenian footballer of all time, behind only Benjamin Šeško.[7]

International career

On 13 October 2018, Bijol debuted with the Slovenia senior team in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League match against Norway, which Slovenia lost 1–0.[8] He scored his first goal in a friendly match against Croatia on 26 March 2022, scoring a stoppage-time goal to secure a 1–1 draw.[9]

Bijol represented Slovenia at UEFA Euro 2024, where he was selected by football statistics portal WhoScored in the best eleven of the tournament.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 May 2026[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rudar Velenje 2017–18 Slovenian PrvaLiga 30300———303
CSKA Moscow 2018–19 Russian Premier League 23400—3[c]01[d]0274
2019–20Russian Premier League25131—6[e]0—342
2020–21 Russian Premier League 5000—00—50
2021–22 Russian Premier League 28120———301
Total 81651—9010967
Hannover 96 (loan) 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 30010———310
Udinese 2022–23 Serie A 32310———333
2023–24 Serie A 24010———250
2024–25 Serie A 34131———372
Total 90451———955
Leeds United 2025–26 Premier League 2515010——311
Career total 2561416210901028316
  1. ↑ Includes Russian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ↑ Appearance in Russian Super Cup
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 7 June 2026[12][13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovenia 201830
201950
202060
2021110
2022101
2023100
2024140
2025100
202640
Total731
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bijol goal.
List of international goals scored by Jaka Bijol
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2022 Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Croatia 1–1 1–1 Friendly

Honours

CSKA Moscow

References

  1. 1 2 "Jaka Bijol » Profile". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  2. ↑ "Яка Бийол пополнил состав ПФК ЦСКА". PFC CSKA Moscow (in Russian). 22 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. ↑ ""Wichtiges Puzzleteil": Hannover leiht Bijol aus". Kicker (in German). 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Campanale, Susy (14 July 2022). "Udinese sign Slovenia international Bijol". Football Italia. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Campanale, Susy (5 December 2023). "Udinese lose Bijol to foot fracture". Football Italia. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Slovenski reprezentant okrepil angleškega prvoligaša". Sportklub (in Slovenian). 16 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Zaključen je drugi najdražji slovenski prestop vseh časov! Jaka Bijol bo igral v Premier League" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Slovenci razočarali tudi v Oslu". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). 13 October 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Slovenia steal late goal to draw friendly with Croatia". ESPN. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Nova priznanja za Bijola, ki mu raste cena na trgu". Sportklub (in Slovenian). 15 July 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  11. ↑ Jaka Bijol at Soccerway
  12. ↑ Jaka Bijol at National-Football-Teams.com
  13. ↑ "Jaka Bijol". eu-football.info. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "2018 Russian Super Cup game report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
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