Leeds United, Fulham and Stoke City are all being credited with an interest in the Middlesbrough defender.
Middlesbrough fans are reacting to reports linking Daniel Ayala to their Championship rivals, Leeds United, Fulham and Stoke City.
According to Teamtalk, Leeds, Fulham and Stoke are all showing an interest in Ayala.
The website claims Middlesbrough are ready to cash in on their long-serving centre-back in January, knowing they will not be able to match the terms of his current contract, which expires next summer.
And it adds that Fulham look the most likely beneficiaries, but also notes that the Leeds director of football, Victor Orta, is a fan of Ayala, with whom he worked at Boro.
This is what those of a Middlesbrough persuasion are saying about the rumour on Twitter...
I’ll be absolutely gutted if Ayala goes in January
— lily quinn (@LilyquinnXx) November 11, 2019
Shocking if true
— Craig Hatton (@CraigHatton26) November 10, 2019
Ayala has to stay
— k (@kylellllllll) November 10, 2019
Hes our best defender, what the fucks happening to the club???
— Drew Stevo (@andrewstevo39) November 10, 2019
Who's going to buy him when he'll be available on a free at the end of the season. Even for himself it would financially advantageous to wait
— FI-McB (@mcbrideBoro) November 11, 2019
Of the out of contract players there are only two who we should make serious efforts to keep. Ayala is one. The other? Friend. And the rest? Goodbye.
— John Bowman (@otherfinemess) November 10, 2019
Ayala going Leeds is up there with Viduka leaving for Newcastle, gutted.
— Martin Wilson (@cloonsey88) November 10, 2019
Other clubs will just pay him his current salary and offer him a 2 yr deal same as Barry Robson previously. Clubs full of whopper’s
— sbash (@sbash57618493) November 10, 2019
Why wouldn’t you tie him down? Definitely in the bracket of: a very good championship player but not good enough for the prem. Cough up.
— UTB (@UTB15117492) November 10, 2019
Get him tied down asap. Given the market we're shopping in now and our recruitment team, he's irreplacebale.
— Rob Scott (@RobSc0tt) November 10, 2019
Good luck to him
— Tim C (@Tim_Media) November 10, 2019
Ayala was signed by Liverpool in 2007 and remained in English football with Hull, Derby, Norwich and Nottingham Forest before joining Middlesbrough.
In his six years at Boro, the 29-year-old has been promoted to the Premier League once and won PFA Team of the Year and Player of the Year awards.
Middlesbrough fans - what sort of player would Leeds/Fulham/Stoke be getting?
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