49ers Enterprises must not sanction Leeds United exit for Luke Ayling after January Djed Spence development
The January transfer window is now up and running at Elland Road and Leeds United have already completed a couple of moves, even if not the sort supporters were expecting.
While Sonny Perkins has returned to Thorp Arch from his loan switch with Oxford, the biggest news coming out of Daniel Farke’s side so far this January is that Djed Spence has been recalled from his loan with the Whites by Tottenham Hotspur.
The 23-year-old has made seven appearances in the Championship this season, including five starts having recovered from an early injury. All five of those starts have come in Leeds’ last six league matches as the Spurs loanee has been a crucial part of Farke’s team.
However, reports have emerged that it was actually Leeds who sent the England youth international back to Tottenham, rather than the Premier League giants recalling him early from his spell at Eland Road [Phil Hay, 4 January].
It seems that for whatever reason, the German doesn’t believe that he needs the 23-year-old in his squad for the second half of the season, but that does leave him slightly short of options for the remainder of the campaign.
Archie Gray has been the Whites’ preferred choice on the right of defence for the majority of the campaign and the 17-year-old has impressed out of position this season, including excellent displays against the likes of QPR, Rotherham and Bristol City.
Another young star who has been deployed in that role this season is Jamie Shackleton, another who is technically a midfielder but has been utilised on the right of defence. The 24-year-old hasn’t featured since October as a result of injury and therefore cannot be relied upon regularly.
That leaves Luke Ayling as the only out-and-out right-back option in the Leeds United squad, but the 32-year-old has been linked with a move away from West Yorkshire during the January transfer window having been left out of the Whites squad in recent weeks.
According to reports, Championship rivals Middlesbrough are interested in signing the veteran defender this month as Michael Carrick looks to bolster his defensive options at the Riverside Stadium [Sky Sports, 3 January].
But Leeds owners 49ers Enterprises cannot allow Ayling to depart this January having lost Spence so early in the window.
Gray and Shackleton may have both impressed this season, but they cannot be relied upon week in and week out given their lack of experience. Ayling knows the Championship inside and out and even if he used sparingly, he will have a role to play in the second half of the campaign.
If the 49ers let him leave, especially to a Championship rival, it could be a decision that they live to regret come the end of the season.
In other Leeds United news, Patrick Bamford has shared how his teammates at Elland Road reacted to a “ludicrous” new change