 Bijol withCSKA Moscow in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1999-02-05)5 February 1999 (age 27) | ||
| Place of birth | Vuzenica, Slovenia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| 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 | 13 | (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 | 69 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Jaka Bijol (born 5 February 1999) is a Slovenian professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forPremier League clubLeeds United and theSlovenia national team. Initially adefensive midfielder, he switched to his current position in the 2021–22 season.
On 22 June 2018,CSKA Moscow announced the signing of Bijol on a five-year contract fromRudar Velenje.[2] On 18 September 2020, Bijol was loaned out toHannover 96 for one year.[3]
On 14 July 2022, Bijol was signed bySerie A clubUdinese 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 toPremier League outfitLeeds 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 onlyBenjamin Šeško.[7]
On 13 October 2018, Bijol debuted with theSlovenia senior team in the2018–19 UEFA Nations League match againstNorway, which Slovenia lost 1–0.[8] He scored his first goal in afriendly match againstCroatia on 26 March 2022, scoring a stoppage-time goal to secure a 1–1 draw.[9]
Bijol represented Slovenia atUEFA Euro 2024, where he was selected by football statistics portal WhoScored in the best eleven of the tournament.[10]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rudar Velenje | 2017–18 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| CSKA Moscow | 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 27 | 4 |
| 2019–20 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 81 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 96 | 7 | ||
| Hannover 96 (loan) | 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Udinese | 2022–23 | Serie A | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 90 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 95 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 231 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 252 | 15 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | 2018 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2022 | Education City Stadium,Al Rayyan, Qatar |  Croatia | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
CSKA Moscow
