Luke Ayling needs to worry about Leeds youngster Robbie Gotts

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Robbie Gotts looks set to be one of the next Leeds United youngsters to force his way into the first-team.

Luke Ayling has not had the best time since returning to the Leeds first-team just before Christmas. He has struggled to rediscover his form from his first season at Elland Road, and has come in for a lot of criticism.

Some may have been tempted to slam the right-back after he gave away the late penalty that allowed Swansea to set up a nervy finish in Leeds’s recent 2-1 victory.

But in fairness to Ayling – who was making his 100th appearance for the Whites on that night – the foul was arguably the one mistake in an otherwise flawless performance.

And with one of his understudies, Jamie Shackleton getting a chance in his preferred position of central midfield in the same game, it would appear that Marcelo Bielsa has no plans to give up on Ayling anytime soon.

But while Ayling appears to have possibly turned a corner and Bielsa is continuing to back him, there is one player who is perhaps getting ready to push the 27-year-old for his spot in the side.

It must be becoming impossible to overlook Robbie Gotts’s form in the under-23 ranks. The 19-year-old has been one of the best performers in Carlos Corberan’s side this season, and it is slightly surprising that he is not amongst the youngsters who have been handed his first-team debut by Bielsa. He recently agreed a new long-term contract with the Whites (via club’s official website).

Gotts is capable of playing anywhere down the right flank, but appears to have found some real form in a right wing-back role. It certainly has not stopped the teenager getting forward.

He scored a stunning goal against Bolton at Elland Road on Monday as he latched onto Hugo Diaz’s pass with a gorgeous touch before deliciously lobbing the ball over the goalkeeper to make the score 2-0.

It was arguably not too dissimilar to the kind of run that Ayling likes to make when he pushes forward. And his recent form has perhaps sent a gentle warning to his teammate.

Bielsa will surely not make a change unless he absolutely has to. But with Gotts performing as well as he currently is, the pressure is perhaps on Ayling to ensure that the fans do not push for a change in that position.

And given how well Ayling responded to the pressure against Swansea – barring that one error – perhaps Gotts’s emergence could be exactly what the Leeds stalwart needs.