Birmingham City have been linked with a move for soon to be free agent Luke Ayling, once his contract with Leeds United ends
Birmingham City have been linked with defender Luke Ayling ahead of the summer transfer window, although they would need to remain in the Championship to keep him at St Andrew’s. Ayling is now on loan at Middlesbrough until the end of the season, but his contract with Leeds United will expire this summer, allowing him to become a free agent and pursue the next chapter of his career.
After losing his starting spot at Leeds under Daniel Farke, Ayling moved to Championship rivals Boro midway through the season. Since then, he has been a regular in the side managed by Michael Carrick. The right-back, who turns 33 in August, spent seven and a half years at Elland Road and made over 250 appearances.
Carrick has relied heavily on Ayling since his arrival at the Riverside. Despite missing out on the play-offs, Boro has been in excellent form in recent weeks, with Ayling appearing 18 times and completing 90 minutes in all but four of them. One of those appearances was against Leeds, where he was ineligible to play against his parent club.
If the Blues stay in the division, which will require a non-negotiable victory over Norwich City next Saturday and outcomes elsewhere – including Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers, and Sheffield Wednesday – to go their way, they will need to make some recruitment decisions.Cody Drameh, Ayling’s former Leeds right-back understudy, is out of contract, although it’s unclear if Blues would sign him permanently.
If they opt not to offer Drameh a contract, Ethan Laird will be the club’s sole senior right-back on the books, and the club will have to look at full-back transfers again this summer. at that sense, Ayling would provide expertise and competition at the right-back position – but the Blues would inevitably face competition in that case.
According to The Sun, Sheffield United, who were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday after a crushing defeat at Newcastle United, are looking for a full-back and may offer Ayling a chance to stay in Yorkshire. Boro have also offered Ayling regular Championship football since his January transfer.
Back in March, after Boro’s 1-0 victory over Blues at St Andrew’s, Carrick said of Ayling: “You’re always playing for something, and as it stands at the moment, that’s obviously what’s next. Looking at him, that’s not at the forefront of his mind at all. He’s all in, he’s desperate to do well and win games for us. We’ll see how it plays out over the next few months.”
With six assists, Ayling has helped to Boro’s recent success, living true to his reputation as a marauding full-back who has an impact on opposition teams. Boro have won six and drawn four of their last 11 league games, with the only defeat coming in a frantic 4-3 loss to Leeds recently, which, as previously stated, Ayling was not authorised to participate in.
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