Luke Ayling has two weeks to save his Leeds United career as Djed Spence update emerges
Luke Ayling has had an incredibly mixed season at Leeds United following the Whites’ return to the Championship this year.
The right-back looked likely to lose his place as Daniel Farke moved to strengthen his squad defensively, with the loan addition of Djed Spence appearing to provide the German with a new first-choice option on the right side of defence.
Spence has only made one brief cameo however, having suffered a knee injury early in his Elland Road tenure, with Ayling instead being kept out of the Leeds’ starting XI by Archie Gray and Jamie Shackleton, with Farke preferring the young midfielders to the 32-year-old.
It looks as though time could well be running out for the former Bristol City defender to stake his claim for the right-back position at Elland Road as well, with Farke revealing that the Whites expect to have Spence back in training “within the next seven to 14 days” [Leeds Live, 1 November].
Being fit to return to training and being fit to play matches are two very different things and it is more than likely that the Spurs loanee won’t be ready to be included in a match-day squad or at best be in line for a start until the other side of the November international break.
That leaves Ayling with just a handful of weeks and games to show that he is deserving of keeping Spence out of the starting line-up, as he is running out of opportunities to stake his claim for the position as he is repeatedly overlooked.
The Whites only have two matches between now and the international break, with a trip to Leicester City on Friday (3 November) followed by a clash with Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road a week later and to have any hope of saving his career with the Whites, Ayling must start at least one of those matches.
His last start came against QPR on 4 October and since then he has been restricted to short cameos from the bench. If Gray and Shackleton start the next two matches, it is hard to see when the 32-year-old will get a better opportunity under Farke.
Following the international break and the return of Spence, Ayling could realistically find himself as the fourth-choice right-back in the Whites’ side, which would more than likely signal the end of his otherwise impressive career in Yorkshire.
This next fortnight could be the most important of his playing career so far.
In other Leeds United news, German media have slammed Brenden Aaronson for his start to life at Union Berlin