Championship giants Leeds United want to sign Andy Yiadom from Barnsley and will also welcome back Louis Coyle. Ayling, then, is under pressure.
Could Luke Ayling’s season-ending injury be more damaging to his Leeds United career than anyone first realised?
The right-back had featured in every Championship game for Leeds since his 2016 arrival from Bristol City, before suffering a serious ankle injury in the New Year’s Day clash against Nottingham Forest.
Since then, however, Leeds dispensed with one manager and brought in another, with Paul Heckingbottom replacing Thomas Christiansen in the dugout. And, as is customary practice, the 40-year-old reportedly wants to bring in players he knows and trusts.
A Ghanaian international who has been the subject of plenty of Premier League interest in the last few months, Yiadom has been one of the Championship’s best right-backs since Barnsley’s 2016 promotion and will be out of contract this summer.
So if Heckingbottom does get the chance to reunite with Yiadom at Elland Road, this could have consequences for Ayling.
After all, when he does return to full fitness he could find himself stuck behind Yiadom – a player Heckingbottom knows very well – in the pecking order. And then there is the return of Lewie Coyle, who has enjoyed a fine loan spell in an otherwise struggling Fleetwood Town side.
Is there a chance that Ayling, one of the most consistent Leeds performers in the last two years, could start next season as third choice?
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