Leeds United: Luke Ayling backed to leave Elland Road permanently this summer
Carlton Palmer believes that it “makes sense” for Middlesbrough to sign Luke Ayling permanently this summer, bringing an end to his time at Leeds United.
The long-time Elland Road defender left the club in January on loan for the rest of the season to join the Championship rivals, with his current contract set to expire at the end of the campaign.
And Palmer, speaking to Football League World (14 March), believes it “makes sense” for Michael Carrick to offer him a permanent contract to take him to the Riverside Stadium next season too.
“Luke is 32 now, but he comes with bags of experience,” he said.
“He’s 100% committed and great to have around the dressing room, and I suppose with Michael Carrick having a young squad it would be good to have a bit of experience around.
“So I think depending on his salary, Middlesbrough will be looking to offer Ayling a short-term contract, maybe a year. He will help the young players come through, so it would make sense to do that if they can come to some sort of agreement over his contract and wages.”
Right decision for Luke Ayling to leave Leeds United?
Ayling has been a key member of the playing staff at Elland Road in recent years, but this season saw a real change in how much he was needed.
Daniel Farke opted to use Ayling at the start of the season but quickly moved to use Jamie Shackleton and then more regularly Archie Gray in that position instead, which has seen Ayling allowed to move on.
Results have picked up too and Leeds are in a position now where they will be looking to secure a return to the Premier League at the first attempt of asking, meaning the level will be even higher.
That means there would be no place for Ayling in the squad and the club have seemingly already made the decision not to offer him a new deal anyway, hence allowing him to go out on loan.
It’s the right call from the board as the squad needs to move on, but it will still be a sad day when Ayling is officially no longer a Leeds player.
In other Leeds news, Daniel Farke’s side want to sign this Premier League winner this summer.
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