Leeds United are reportedly keen on signing Middlesbrough defender Daniel Ayala.
According to the Daily Star, Leeds United are interested in signing Middlesbrough defender Daniel Ayala whether or not they go up.
Leeds will lose loanee Ben White back to Brighton and Hove Albion this summer, leaving Marcelo Bielsa with a hole to fill in his defence.
Ayala, 29, is now being eyed up to join Leeds this summer, given that he is out of contract this summer and looks unlikely to stay at Middlesbrough.
The Spaniard is an experienced performer who has played in the Premier League and the Championship, so a free transfer move wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for Leeds.
Interestingly, Leeds director of football Victor Orta has history with Ayala, and it remarkably goes all the way back to 2006.
Ayala was coming through the Sevilla ranks as a top young talent when Orta joined the recruitment ranks in 2006, and was tipped for a big future before he left for Liverpool in 2007.
That was a big blow for Sevilla at the time, and Orta saw Ayala snub professional terms with Sevilla in order to try and carve out a career in England.
The pair crossed paths again when Orta joined Middlesbrough in 2015, over a year after Ayala had made the move to the Riverside Stadium himself.
A move to Leeds would see the two Spaniards join up once again, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them unite for the third time, with their connection going back almost 15 years.
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