On Monday afternoon, we covered reports from Italy which stated a Leeds United agreement to sign Jaka Bijol was imminent, after talks between the Whites and Udinese had been ongoing for over a week.
The Serie A club had initially been holding out for €25m, and Leeds United first went in with €15m before raising that to €18m. As we stated at the time, €20m looked like the middle-ground, and the deal was agreed at €22m including bonuses.
There was frustration from both Leeds United fans and the media around Udinese over the weekend about the delay in agreeing a transfer. However, we went for a wander in the Slovenian media and found out the 26-year-old got married on Saturday, to his long term girlfriend, who is a qualified doctor. That appears to have been the – understandable – reason for a short pause.
Tuesday’s Italian newspapers cover the agreement, with Gazzetta dello Sport saying he was ‘one of the leaders of Kosta Runjaic’s team’ and they expect him to make a quick and big impact at Leeds United, predicting ‘he should immediately become a point of reference’ for the Whites.
Udinese paid €4m to CSKA for the defender, and given the time that has passed since, the fee can be counted as almost entirely capital gains.
Corriere dello Sport report the agreement was reached on Monday morning, and all talks had been ‘conducted in a climate of optimism’, contradicting any idea of things getting tense between Leeds United and Udinese.
Jaka Bijol is clearly highly rated around the Italian club, and he’s being sent to Elland Road with the best of wishes.
