Leeds United have completed their second transfer of the summer window, signing Jaka Bijol from Udinese for £15million. At 26, Bijol is entering the prime years of his career and Leeds hope they will see the best of the Slovenia international at the heart of their defence. He is right-footed, but the pressure for starts is likely to be on left-sided Pascal Struijk initially. Bijol has played on the right of a back three for Udinese too, which gives manager Daniel Farke another option next term if he does wish to move away from his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. Leeds are delighted to have got their man after several weeks of talks, but why did they go for him and what will he bring to Elland Road? On first impressions, you would be forgiven for thinking Bijol, at 6ft 3in with a big frame, is a front-footed, aggressive defender who goes steaming into challenges. However, a closer look at his performances with Udinese tells a different story. Generally, Bijol is a more patient defender, who waits for moments to be aggressive and assertive. His true tackles per 1,000 opposition touches tell us more about his defending. Of all central defenders with at least 900 minutes in Serie A last term, Bijol was 35th out of 74 for this metric. This marks him out as quite passive in this regard. In other words, he is not going to go charging into tackles too frequently. When he does commit to challenging an opponent, his success rate is quite low. Bijol only has a win rate of 50 per cent with his ‘true tackles’, which puts him 72nd among those 74 centre-backs with 900-plus minutes. His league-high tally of 13 yellow cards underlines the issues he faces when he goes to win the ball. While his tackling ability may be lacking, there is a lot more to modern defending than sticking a foot in. Bijol has shown he prefers to sit off and sweep up for Udinese. With Leeds, you could envisage Joe Rodon as the traditional stopper who steps out of the backline, while Bijol covers behind him. He does generally defend the space well and ranked highly in Serie A for clearances, interceptions and aerials — only three players in the division made more than his 182 clearances. There was a passage of play from Udinese’s last game of the season which neatly summarises Bijol’s traits. As Luca Ranieri goes to pass from Fiorentina’s defence, Bijol has found himself high up the field from a previous phase. Bijol reads the pass and intercepts. That’s good, but his subsequent attempt to pass forward is then picked out by opponent Amir Richardson. In an attempt to rectify his error, Bijol then goes in late and hard on Richardson, who pokes the ball away before the collision. Bijol was booked. United’s new centre-back’s interception rate does underline his anticipation and football intelligence. He can read the game and understand when it’s the right time to step out of the backline to apply pressure. In the same Fiorentina game, he can sense Nicolo Fagioli will receive the ball after the next pass. Bijol steps out and pushes his opponent all the way back to the edge of his own area. Bijol’s aerial dominance is where he stands out most and may have been the key attribute Leeds were looking for. And with his ability to defend the space and sweep up, Leeds United's defence is set to be bolstered by the signing of Jaka Bijol. So, what can Leeds United fans expect from their new signing? With his patient and intelligent approach to the game, Bijol is set to make a significant impact at Elland Road. But it's not just his defensive abilities that will be important, his ability to read the game and apply pressure will be crucial in Leeds United's upcoming matches. Leeds United's manager Daniel Farke will be looking to utilise Bijol's strengths to improve the team's overall performance. With the signing of Jaka Bijol, Leeds United have made a significant statement of intent for the upcoming season.