Leeds United are already thought to be showing an interest in Middlesbrough’s Daniel Ayala as the centre-back’s contract is set to expire in the summer, with Boro believed they won’t be able to offer him a new deal.
According to TEAMTalk: Fulham perhaps look most likely, though Leeds’ director of football, Victor Orta, knows Ayala from his days with the Teessiders and is also a fan.
Ayala is 29 years old and currently playing for Middlesbrough. The Spaniard has an average Whoscored rating of 6.86, which is pretty respectable. Transfermarkt value the centre-back at £3.6m, so picking him up on a free would be very good business financially.
TEAMTalk stated: Ayala is on big wages at The Riverside, and unless Boro’s season takes a major up-turn and they show signs that they could mount a push for the play-offs, they won’t be able to offer him similar terms.
This could work in Leeds’ favour, although depending on how big ‘big wages’ is, it could also be a major non-starter, whilst the alleged interest in the 29-year-old may force Marcelo Bielsa’s side into making a move a lot sooner should they be as keen as reported on him.
TIF Tactics – Do Leeds need another defender?
With Kalvin Phillips, Ben White, Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski, Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Barry Douglas and Gaetano Berardi all being able to play in defensive positions, the short answer is no.
Daniel Ayala’s average WhoScored rating would put him joint 10th with Mateusz Klich, which is impressive when you don’t look at the number of defenders Leeds already have. The Spaniard, being a free transfer next summer, makes this move a little bit more realistic, but we can’t really see this one happening unless one of the many Whites’ defenders is moved on in January.