Leeds United ace Luke Ayling spoke highly of Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, who was on loan with the Whites at Elland Road from the Gunners in the first half of the season.
Leeds United ace Luke Ayling has spoken highly of Arsenal youngster and former Elland Road on-loan striker Eddie Nketiah, describing him as a “very good player” with a “massive future” at the Emirates Stadium.
Nketiah joined the Whites with much fanfare and began the season brightly for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, with goals against Brentford, Barnsley, Salford and Stoke in August and September.
Things didn’t quite continue in the same vein, however, as the 20-year-old scored just one more goal for Leeds, against Preston in the Championship, while a stint out with injury further set him back.
Nketiah wasn’t handed a Leeds league start by Bielsa until the 5-4 win over Birmingham on 29 December, and he played one more game – the draw with West Brom – before his stay was cut short.
The 20-year-old was supposedly set to go out on loan for a second time, with Bristol City, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday all reportedly keen, but Arsenal have opted to keep him at The Emirates for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to iSport, former Arsenal trainee Ayling has claimed that Nketiah is a much better player than he was when coming up through the Gunners academy, and has predicted Nketiah to have a huge future at the North London club.
“I didn’t really give him any advice. You know, he’s a much better player than I was at his age,” Ayling said. “He’s obviously come through the under-23s and he’s got a massive future there – I could see him going back and playing many for Arsenal.
“He’s a very good player, he can score a lot of goals, he’s just got a natural instinct for being in the right place at the right time.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
