Pontus Jansson has taken to Instagram to send a message to Luke Ayling, after Leeds recorded a 1-0 win over Burnley at Elland Road.
Ayling – who cost £250,000 – was forced to line up at centre-back in a makeshift back three alongside Kalvin Phillips and Pascal Struijk.
Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper and Robin Koch were all injured, forcing Marcelo Bielsa into naming the unorthodox backline.
Despite naturally being a right-back, Ayling shone at centre-back, prompting Jansson to send him a hilarious 18-word message on Instagram.
The Sweden international wrote: ‘Understand why I had to leave when the RB is better CB than me 😂 haha love it bro ❤️’
Ayling was simply brilliant against Sean Dyche’s men, on an afternoon where his long-range passing caught the eye.
As WhoScored shows, the former Bristol City man completed nine successful long-range passes from an attempted 16.
The 29-year-old also completed one key pass, while making three interceptions and five clearances against the Clarets too.
For all the talk about how open Leeds have been under Bielsa, Ayling helped the Yorkshire-based outfit keep their fifth Premier League clean sheet of the season.
Only four teams have registered more shut-outs.
Chelsea and Southampton have six clean sheets, while Manchester City and Aston Villa have seven and eight respectively.
After his heroics against Burnley, there’s no denying that Ayling is a massive part of that solid foundation.
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