MIDDLESBROUGH are set to strengthen their defence with the capture of Leeds United defender Luke Ayling.
A deal has been agreed between the two clubs and the 32-year-old is due on Teesside this morning for a medical before completing a loan move until the end of the season.
Boro prioritised the addition of a right-back this month, with Michael Carrick short in that department. Tommy Smith is out until the end of the season with an Achilles injury and Anfernee Dijksteel is also currently sidelined.
Boro’s recruitment team agreed a loan signing in that area was best this month, before longer term decisions are made in the summer.
Ayling looks set to have played his last game for Leeds, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season. He’s played more than 250 times for the Elland Road club, won promotion under Marcelo Bielsa and is currently vice-captain.
But he’s slipped down the pecking order under Daniel Farke this season, and despite cutting short the loan spell of ex-Boro defender Djed Spence, the Leeds boss can’t promise Ayling regular football in the second half of the season.
Ayling appeared to be saying goodbye to Leeds fans after the weekend FA Cup win at Peterborough.
Farke said after that game: “What he has done for this club and what he has done for this group is amazing. I know at the moment quite often the goal scorers or assisters or the younger guys who are in the spotlight are more or less the main focus and they sing their names, but I’m a bit old-fashioned.
“I would sing ‘Luke, Luke, Luke’ for the whole 90 minutes. It’s not a miracle everyone is celebrating him that much and if you get such a reception, although you haven’t played that much in recent weeks or also today you come in just for 20 minutes, I would be also emotionally touched if I’m honest, as a player. I think that’s just due to his legendary status.”
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