Leeds United have signed Slovenia centre-back Jaka Bijol on a five-year deal from Udinese.
The 26-year-old joins Leeds for an undisclosed fee and becomes the club’s second summer signing after forward Lukas Nmecha signed on a free transfer from Wolfsburg.
Bijol scored two goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A side last season.
“This is a big day for me, for my family and I’m happy to be here”, said Bijol. “Maybe the biggest one of my career so far, but I’m ready for it.
” I work for it and that’s why I’m here, because it’s a big challenge for everyone. It’s a big challenge for me, for the club, and we’re getting ready for it together.
“I think the club and myself are ready for the Premier League.
” I can promise that I will give everything, that I will give everything in every training as well to be ready for the first game of the season and then just go from there. “
Originally a defensive midfielder, Bijol began his career in his native Slovenia with Rudar Velenje before moving to CSKA Moscow.
He played on loan with German club Hannover 96 before permanently joining Udinese in 2022.
Bijol has Champions League experience and has also won 63 caps since making his Slovenia debut aged 19 in 2018.
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Russell Fuller
Tennis correspondent at Eastbourne
@russellcfuller
Britain’s Emma Raducanu has praised Wimbledon for doing “an amazing job” to prevent a man who had been stalking her from buying tickets for this month’s championships.
As first reported by the BBC, the All England Club’s security measures spotted the man had been red-flagged, and blocked his attempt to enter the public ballot.
The man followed Raducanu to four successive tournaments in February and the 22-year-old was left in tears when she caught sight of him in the stands at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
He was later given a restraining order by Dubai police, and his name circulated among the tennis authorities.
“Wimbledon and everyone did an amazing job. I got a notification, the police contacted me and told me everything was OK”, Raducanu told BBC Sport in her first comments on the issue.
Raducanu shot to worldwide fame when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old in 2021.
She has previously been the victim of a stalker, with another man given a five-year restraining order in 2022 after he walked 23 miles to her home.
The Englishwoman has often had a greater security detail with her at tournaments since the upsetting incident in Dubai, and says she now feels “comfortable and safe” on tour.
“I’ve had great protection whenever I have been at these events recently”, she continued.
“I have a lot more protection around me – especially the ones here in the UK, where it’s busy and there’s more spectators around.
” I feel a difference, and that reassures me and makes me feel more comfortable. “
Sally Bolton, chief executive of All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) told BBC Sport they spend a lot of time on ensuring security measures are tight at Wimbledon.
Raducanu also praised Katie Boulter for” taking a stand “after her compatriot spoke to BBC Sport about the scale of online abuse she receives.
Boulter and a number of female athletes across a range of sports have called for more action to be taken against those who abuse players.
” I’m glad Katie spoke out about it because it is something that we all go through, “Raducanu added.
” I try and not to read the comments or look at the messages because it makes you upset.
“It doesn’t matter how many positive comments you read, you are always going to remember the more negative ones – so I just try and stay away”.
Raducanu is competing at Eastbourne, one of the final grass-court events before Wimbledon begins on 30 June.
The new American owners of Rangers received approval to invest $ 20 million in the club on Monday, a significant development for the Ibrox club.
By Scottish football standards, it is a sizable sum of money. Is it sufficient, however, in the more specific context of Rangers’ conflict with Celtic?
In a time of unprecedented dominance, Glasgow’s green-and-white half has won 13 of its previous 14 Scottish Premiership titles.
However, Andrew Cavenagh, the new chairman of Rangers, claims that the club’s goal is to return to the Champions League.
It’s also unknown how much of the £20 million will go directly to the squad of new head coach Russell Martin because Cavenagh also stated they would be purposefully “opaque” about the transfer budget.
Can Rangers afford to spend £20 million?
It is obvious that the San Francisco 49ers’ investment arm and Cavenagh brought in significant sums of money.
However, Rangers’ most recent financial results, which date back to October 2024, show a loss of £17 million for the previous fiscal year.
Costs have been reduced since then, but the new owners discovered a club that was losing money as of June 2024 and had only £1.7 million in the bank.
A staggering amount of cash was held by Celtic at the end of the same time period (£65 million as of December 31, 2024).
The key factors in this comparison are Celtic’s cunning ability to attract and sell young talent for a sizable profit.
Celtic players account for eight of the ten biggest sales in Scottish football history, according to transfermarkt.com, and they have all occurred within the last eleven years.
Celtic’s financial success is also credited to regular Champions League football, which has allowed them to financially outlive Rangers.
So, while not to be sniffed at, the sum of £20m won’t change Rangers’ spending power in comparison to that of their rivals.
Cavenagh is aware of this, claiming that the long-term goal is to provide financial stability with the potential for Ibrox expansion as a later project.
Come in, spend some money, sign some players, try to win something, and then experience the sugar crash that comes with that, Cavenagh said. “We are not looking for the sugar high.
What might the plan be then?
A key figure in the management of sporting organizations, Vice-chairman Paraag Marathe, according to his own words to shareholders, “has a deep expertise in turning them around”
He has spent years working for the 49ers’ analytics and data department.
He has used that background to help Leeds United, who were only just promoted to the Premier League last season after conceding a season-long absence.
Leeds was forced to sell star players like Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, and Georginio Rutter for large sums of money and reinvest in the following year as a result of their unsuccessful promotion bid.
Ao Tanaka and Jayden Bogle were among the players who helped them win the title, and they did it cleverly and reasonably cheaply.
Marathe emphasizes that it is about being “smarter” rather than “hosing money at players,” making it seem the most instructive comparison to what might take place at Rangers.
Other clubs have reportedly expressed interest in striker Cyriel Dessers and midfielder Nicolas Raskin in addition to the $ 20 million injection.
Cavenagh did not provide any information about the summer plans, but it might be best to cash in and look to reinvest right away.
The clock is ticking, though, given that only four weeks until Rangers’ first competitive game, a massive one against Panathinaikos in Champions League qualifying, are scheduled.
Lyall Cameron, a former Dundee midfielder, is the only confirmed addition to the Rangers squad, despite the Rangers’ claim that they are close to signing Bournemouth right-back Max Aarons on loan.
There is a lot to be done because the senior players from last season’s departure, including Vaclav Cerny, Leon Balogun, Ianis Hagi, and Tom Lawrence.
Cavenagh claimed that this year, “the club is in a different position.” From a financial standpoint, “we can be patient.”
How quickly can Ibrox’s operations change?
Rangers only need to consider what transpired when Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic Park in 2021 and immediately reclaimed the title.
The Australian, who had been instrumental in Celtic’s success under his leadership and Brendan Rodgers, added Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, and Reo Hatate despite losing the first Old Firm derby.
A head coach who can improve a squad as well as a few key signings can be very helpful. Particularly because Rangers’ shortcomings last term were more reliant on Celtic than the rest of the league.
Kevin Thomson, a former Rangers midfielder, believes that finding players with the right attitude and the right attitude is also a top priority.
According to him, “When you get to Rangers and Celtic, it comes down to what kind of players they recruit and how they handle it mentally.”
How do you constantly develop that edge?
Cavenagh claimed one of the four key qualities they were looking for in a hiring the former Southampton boss was the ability to improve players, as well as the style of play, win, and create a culture.
And while the new owners frequently mention that this is going to be a long-term project, they are undoubtedly optimistic about a long-term project.
Cavenagh remarked, “It’s possible or we wouldn’t be here,” adding that they share fans’ “sense of urgency.”
We don’t believe it will be simple. We will work hard to improve on-pitch performance and the club’s infrastructure, but it won’t happen right away.
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The killing of 12 Kaduna State residents who were lynched by a mob on Friday while attending a wedding in the state’s Qua’an Pan Local Government Area has been condemned by the Northern Senators Forum (NSF).
The attack was described as a “barbaric and cowardly act with no place in a civilized society,” according to the NSF’s chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, in a statement released on Monday, underscoring the need for “swift and decisive justice.”
“On behalf of the Forum, I extend our sincere condolences to Kaduna State’s government and people, particularly the bereaved families who have been the victims of this heinous attack.
We point out that Section 41 of the Nigerian Constitution’s fundamental right to freedom of movement and residentity is untenable and undermines that right. The chairman of the NSF stated that these senseless killings threaten the fabric of our nation’s unity.
The victims reportedly lost their way and unintentionally entered Mangun district in Mangu Local Government Area, a region that has recently experienced sustained terrorist assaults while traveling in an 18-seater bus from the Basawa community in Zaria, Kaduna State.
A mob targeted the travelers, who were caught up in an already violent environment, killing 12 people.
Other people got hurt, and they’re currently receiving treatment at Mangu General Hospital.
Read more about Tinubu’s demonization of the killing of 12 tourists in Plateau.
The Nigerian Police Force should increase its ability to gather strategic intelligence to prevent similar tragedies, the NSF furtherurged.
Additionally, it urged the Federal Government to provide modern surveillance and communication tools to identify and detach criminal elements.
Additionally, the Forum made a plea to the populace to remain calm and uphold the law, warning against reprisals attacks that could escalate tensions.
We also urge the Plateau State Government to make more efforts to prevent recurrences between the state’s various ethnic and religious groups.
The NSF condemns this atrocity in solidarity with the victims’ families and the entire country. We commit to working with the appropriate authorities to prevent future tragedies and ensure justice is served. May Allah’s forgiveness and blessing of Jannah be upon them, the statement continued.
Condemnable and avoidable, respectively
Governors of Plateau, Kaduna, and Bola Tinubu, governors of Kaduna and Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, and Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna State.
The mob’s actions were “totally condemnable and avoidable,” according to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
While the governor spoke with the survivors in the hospital and the attack’s location, he said, “While we recognize the pain and suffering of our people, it should not be used as justification for violence against innocent commuters.”
Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, referred to the killings as an act of savagery and demanded that security forces immediately detain and prosecute the killers.
He promised to keep fighting for justice among Kaduna’s citizens.
Bola Tinubu, the president’s representative, also spoke out on Sunday, condemning the attack and claiming that all citizens’ right to free movement is “non-negotiable.”
Dries Mertens, a former Belgium international, announced that he would retire from football at the end of this month. His contract with Galatasaray is scheduled to expire at the end of this month.
The 38-year-old said he was hanging up his boots in a video that was posted on social media on Sunday but that Marek Hamsik, his former Napoli teammate, would play in an exhibition game in July.
Mertens has the all-time best goalscorer record at 148 against Napoli.
Before moving to Galatasaray, where he won three consecutive Turkish Super Lig titles in 2022, he won two Italian Cups while there.
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