‘He can score a lot of goals’ – Luke Ayling raves about PL forward
Eddie Nketiah may be old news for Leeds United but the impact of his exit is still having a major say on the Yorkshire club’s activity in the transfer market this month.
Arsenal took the decision to terminate Nketiah’s loan spell at Elland Road earlier this month after seeing him earn just two Championship starts in the first half of the season.
As a result, Nketiah’s exit has left Leeds with Patrick Bamford as their only out-and-out striker in the first-team squads and so far, efforts to sign a replacement for the Arsenal forward have been unsuccessful.
It would have been interesting to see how Nketiah would have fared in the second half of the campaign if he had stayed put at Elland Road.
Arsenal’s decision to recall him is understandable but it has left Leeds stuck between a rock and a hard place where they need to sign a new striker but cannot convince any new arrivals due to the lack of game-time Nketiah had.
Now, Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling has now said that he saw enough from Nketiah in his loan spell at Elland Road to suggest he will go on to continue his development elsewhere and reach his potential.
“I didn’t really give him any advice. You know, he’s a much better player than I was at his age,” Ayling told iNews.
“He’s obviously come through the under-23s and he’s got a massive future there – I could see him going back and playing many, many games for Arsenal.
“He’s a very good player, he can score a lot of goals, he’s just got a natural instinct for being in the right place at the right time.”
Nketiah may have only started twice for Leeds in the Championship, but he did have quite the impact in some of his appearances off the bench.
The England Under-21 international scored as a substitute against Brentford, Barnsley and Preston.
His contributions against Brentford and Barnsley were match-winning while his 87th-minute goal at Preston earned a draw.
Leeds would be worse off in the Championship if they did not have Nketiah in the first half of the season.
In other Leeds United news, David Prutton has urged Leeds to sign a player who can help them pocket £200million prize.