Why Luke Ayling Could Be A Perfect Candidate For Premier League Clubs In January
Having committed himself to the club recently, the availability or otherwise of Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling is disputed but he may still be a target for certain Premier League sides.
I’m certainly not advocating his departure from Elland Road, as I think it’s good to see a player committing himself to the club. Ayling’s own attitude, at least publicly, appears to be at odds with that of Charlie Taylor over the last year or so, who eventually forced a move out of the club to Burnley.
All that being said though, Ayling is now a desirable right-back and one who is getting better. So in the fast moving world of English football, it would be no surprise to see desperate Premier League clubs looking to offer big money in January for such a player, to reach their goals.
Arguably, clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Bournemouth could all do with a right-back and all could afford to buy a player such as Ayling, given the general riches of Premier League sides.
Naturally, moving from a club with a chance of promotion to the Premier League, to a club with a chance of relegation from it, would never be a wise move, though many have done it. From Ayling’s point of view then, I would strongly advise against a move this winter, though I can certainly recommend his talents to those at the top level.
The clubs mentioned, just to use as an example, have fielded Allan Nyom, Pablo Zabaleta and Adam Smith respectively whereas Stoke City don’t even have a right-back to speak of, that they appear to want to use! On general play and general opinion, many an observer would be willing to say that Ayling would be an improvement on these players and so he becomes a very viable option for these clubs.
Alright, Zabaleta has been absolute quality and still possesses lots of class, but even his is vulnerable, given his age and West Ham’s other right-back Sam Byram has ultimately been unsuccessful for various reasons, injuries not being the least of them.
Ayling regularly sits the Championship’s top twenty players for various individual skills and, as mentioned here, he is getting better with every passing month, which really shows what sort of player Leeds (or any other club) will have on their hands this time next season.