How Luke Ayling's magic touch reignited Leeds United's push for Premier League football

Leeds United will play Premier League football next season for the first time in 16 years.
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Luke Ayling emerged from the City Ground tunnel a dejected figure and as he spoke to the media to face difficult questions he was struggling for answers.

Leeds United - who had previously stretched out an 11 point cushion at one stage in the moving Championship table and automatic places - had just seen their advantage cut to zero thanks to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of then promotion rivals Nottingham Forest.

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“I am not sure how many wins that is in how many games but it has not been good enough,” a downcast Ayling stated firmly.

Leeds United defender Luke Ayling celebrates with Kalvin Phillips. (PA)Leeds United defender Luke Ayling celebrates with Kalvin Phillips. (PA)
Leeds United defender Luke Ayling celebrates with Kalvin Phillips. (PA)

It was two wins in 10 games for Marcelo Bielsa’s side for the avoidance of doubt; a run which had begun after a stunning capitulation at the hands of Cardiff City in mid-December, which saw United leave Elland Road with a point having boasted a three-goal cushion on the hour mark.

Ayling had produced some magic amid the decline, most notably in a sublime and ridiculous 5-4 victory over Birmingham City during the festive period as a remarkable volley at St Andrew’s played a role in earning the spoils

But after a cold February evening in the Midlands, as he slumped off to join his team-mates on the bus to travel home, he was left alone with his thoughts.

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For United fans it was all too familiar, especially with play-off heartbreak to Derby County still fresh in the memory.

Leeds supporters sympathised with their right-back on social media as footage emerged online, and a team meeting at Thorp Arch was held in the days after.

If only they knew, though, what was to come; Ayling was about to produce a run of form that would seemingly appear like he was dragging the club kicking and screaming towards the Premier League by himself.

Three goals - including one against former club Bristol City and a goal of the season contender against Huddersfield Town - in the following six games saw Leeds pick up five wins and a draw.

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Form that reasserted their dominance in the promotion race - and helped remove any creeping doubts.

By the time Ayling was sliding on his knees with his hair in full flow against the Terriers the figure he had portrayed in Nottingham just a month earlier had been long banished.

Confidence was brimming and United were on the charge towards top flight football - even with the impending hiatus amid a global pandemic - the Leeds train was rolling and its next stop was the Premier League.

“It’s finished the way it should have finished with us top,” Ayling reflected.

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“I think we’ve been the best team in the league. I think it’s finally sunk in now we’ve got our hands on the trophy. It feels real. It’s brilliant.”

It’s been a journey for Bielsa’s squad, and one which started four years ago for Ayling and Leeds when he made the move to West Yorkshire.

“I think the bond (with this group of players) started two years ago,” he admitted. “All the hard work we’ve done and, last season with the play-off disappointment, we came in this season and we were together.

“It’s a small squad but the boys know every game we come out and we’re going to give one hundred and ten per cent. That’s never going to change.

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“I signed with this club four years ago with a dream to take it back to the Premier League.

“I joined pretty much as an unknown and I’ve played my part after 16 years away. I’m so proud of myself

“To play in the Premier League will be a dream come true but to play for this club there will be a different level.”

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