After announcing £15m Jaka Bijol deal, Leeds United will now submit bid to sign striker compared to Jamie Vardy

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Leeds United have now completed their second signing of the summer after Jaka Bijol arrived from Udinese.

The Slovenia international has penned a five-year contract at Elland Road, after Leeds United also signed Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer earlier in June.

Bijol will cost the Whites £15m.

The move goes some way to bolstering the centre-back department for Daniel Farke, but there is still a desire from Leeds United to sign a new striker, with a fresh bid now set to be made for Lecce striker Nikola Krstovic.

Leeds United to submit Nikola Krstovic bid

A story from La Gazzetta Del Mezzogiorno now states that the Premier League outfit are ready to make a new offer for the Montenegro international – having initially seen a bid worth €23m (£20m) rejected.

The Italian news outlet add that Krstovic is attracting interest from Real Betis, Sevilla and AC Milan after an impressive 2025/26 campaign – in which he scored 11 goals in 37 Serie A appearances.

Roma and Sporting CP – who could sell Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal soon – are also monitoring the Montenegrin.

However, it doesn’t sound as if Leeds United are too far away from what Lecce would accept for Krstovic.

La Gazzetta Del Mezzogiorno write that Lecce hope to receive at least €30m (£25.7m) for the striker, which is only £5.7m more than their opening bid.

Stefano Trinchera – Sporting Director at Lecce – has already conceded that the Serie A outfit will happily sell Krstovic if an offer of that amount arrives, saying: “We are healthy. We have no need to sell. We will do it, but at the price we will establish.”

Daniel Farke could be handed Jamie Vardy 2.0

The 25-year-old is a relatively unknown talent on these shores, keeping a low profile whilst playing for Lecce and Montenegro, both of whom are hardly giants of the scene in Italian and international football respectively, with all due respect.

Therefore, a comparison to a more popular player might help Leeds United fans gain a better understanding of how Krstovic operates, and FBREF interestingly liken the Lecce No.9 to Jamie Vardy.

The Leicester City legend – who is available on a free this summer – is fourth on the list of players similar to Krstovic, with the data website showing they both thrive when it comes to taking shots (3.95 per 90 minutes), successful aerial duels (2.68) and shot-creating actions (2.56).

Vardy remarkably scored 145 goals in 342 Premier League appearances for the Foxes, so if Krstovic can even achieve 50% of what the Englishman did on these shores, he would be a fantastic signing for Leeds United.