Luke Ayling has been getting a lot of plaudits for Leeds United lately – and rightly so.
The English right-back took the armband off Liam Cooper after his red card against Manchester City last week.
And despite having 10 men for half the game, Leeds still beat the Premier League champions elect at the Etihad Stadium.
It was a result that reminded English football how brilliant United have been since winning promotion back to the big time last summer.
The former Arsenal youth played a big role in that promotion and really, has been an ever-present figure under several managers since moving to Elland Road in the summer of 2016.
But Ayling himself has revealed that a big element of luck played a role in his move to Leeds from Bristol City.
The West Yorkshire club had just signed a friend of Ayling in the form of Kyle Bartley, whom he knew from their time together in North London.
Here’s what Ayling said to the club’s official podcast this week: “I was playing for Bristol City when I came here, my mate signed in the summer, Kyle Bartley signed, he was close to the manager at the time. We were both in Thailand when he signed for Leeds and I said to him jokingly ‘ask him if he needs a right-back’. So, then he just missed the joke and three weeks later I signed for Leeds.”
And here’s how some Leeds fans reacted to the revelation:
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