Daniel Farke was very un-Daniel Farke on Friday night as he made four changes to his Leeds United side to face West Ham. One of those was a Premier League debut for Jaka Bijol.
Farke has become renowned for his consistency and often rigid approach when it comes to naming his starting line-up. Illan Meslier was given every chance last season, Brenden Aaronson started 44 times.
But against West Ham, Farke brought in Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Noah Okafor following Leeds’ defeat to Burnley the week prior. It paid off, Leeds secured a 2-1 home win against The Hammers.
Retaining Aaronson paid off, but bringing in Bijol and Perri worked as Leeds came within seconds of their first clean sheet since the 0-0 draw with Newcastle. Aidy White was in attendance as a co-commentator.
Jaka Bijol during Leeds United v West Ham United - Premier League
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Aidy White verdict on Jaka Bijol’s Premier League debut
The win proves Farke made the right decision in dropping Pascal Struijk for Bijol, who had not played a single minute in the Premier League since his £15m move. A deal Farke described as a “marquee signing”.
It is not as if Struijk had done anything largely wrong, but to have such a big signing on the bench saw Leeds fans decide they wanted a change. White believes Bijol isn’t in his “full rhythm” yet after his debut.
“Aggressive, good aerially, Callum Wilson didn’t get any change from him. He was comfortable, 95% of the things he did were good, a couple of sloppy mistakes,” White said, when asked about Bijol on BBC RL.
“But he’s been out of the side so long, international games aren’t regular minutes, he’s not in his full rhythm. But I’d be pleased with his performance if I was Daniel Farke,” White added, when discussing Bijol.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Jaka Bijol’s stats for Leeds in win over West Ham
Bijol was unfazed on the night. He dealt with problems calmly and while he might have reacted a bit quicker to the goal, and got closer to Manuel Fernandes, it was a largely composed display on debut.
Bijol underlined his delight at finally making his Premier League debut after the match, and certainly, he did enough to retain his place when Leeds travel south to Georginio Rutter’s Brighton next weekend.
Jaka Bijol’s stats for Leeds in win against West Ham:
90 minutes played, 7.8 FotMob rating (joint-third best on pitch)
75 touches (highest for Leeds), 53/57 successful passes (93%)
14 defensive contributions (joint-highest on pitch)
Two tackles, two interceptions, 10 clearances (five with his head)
Six duels won, four lost
It is largely Farke’s fault that Bijol is not playing at full capacity, as White suggests, due to a lack of game time but with that debut under his belt, Bijol is only going to get better in a Leeds shirt because of it.