Seeing his assertive performances at the heart of the defence in pre-season you would be hard pushed to tell, but Jaka Bijol is tip-toeing his way into Udinese and Serie A.
“Serie A is a big step up for me,” the Slovene centre-back admitted as he spoke on Monday's Udinese Tonight show. “I'm grateful to everyone at the club for welcoming me in and I'm really excited about this new stage of my career, in one of the best leagues in the world.
"I knew a lot about Udinese already because Friuli borders with Slovenia and growing up I watched a lot of Italian football. It's different when you're here and you see the difference in the level of the professional game and the footballers here in person as opposed to on TV. I find it very motivating.”
Bijol went on to speak about his evolution as a player over the course of his career. “I've spent most of my career playing in midfield – it was just last year that I was moved back into defence. I still have a lot to learn in the centre-back role but I enjoy playing there and I feel I have lots of room for improvement tactically. I know what I need to do and I'm in the right place to do it. I'm getting a little bit better every day.”
Aged just 23, the Slovene has already acquired a wealth of experience in the Russian and German leagues – something he believes will stand him in good stead.
“You can learn a lot from every experience you have. I'm young but I've already racked up lots of games. Obviously everything is new to me here and I have to get used to it. I'll keep learning and improving.
“Udinese showed they believed in me and really wanted me. That makes me happy and I feel a sense of responsibility. That's why I'm going to put everything into showing that I deserve to be here.”