Leeds United defender Luke Ayling explains 'Bill' nickname and why Adam Forshaw is 'Sausage'

Ayling has been known as 'Bill' to everybody associated with Leeds since moving to the club from Bristol City in August 2016 and even Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa has referred to the defender as Bill in his press conferences.

But speaking in a video feature with Sky Sports, Ayling also revealed a rather less well documented nickname for midfielder Forshaw after explaining the origins of 'Bill'.

Ayling explained: "In my scholar days I was at Arsenal and (Luke) Freeman was there - the lad who is at Sheffield United now and he was called Luke as well - but for some reason everybody got called Bill in the youth team.

"I don't know why, it was just like you are Billy tall, you are billy this, you are billy that and I don't know why it was, it was just something that we did.

"Then afterwards after we all split up and everything and the boys went back to their normal names but for some reason every time I would come back to one my mates from the youth team they would just still call me Bill.

"Then I went to Yeovil and there were people there that I knew they so called me Bill and then I went to Bristol City and Jay Emmaunel-Thomas and Freeman were there so they called me Bill and then I came up here and Kyle (Bartley( was here so I just said 'look lads, my name is Luke, but you call me Bill.'

"Everybody calls me Bill, the staff call me Bill, the chefs call me Bill so it's Bill. I quite like it."

Asked by Sky's Jonathan Oakes if there were any other nicknames within the squad, Ayling laughed: "There's saus - sausage for Forshaw.

"We call Forshaw saus.

"I don't know, he came in and asked himself to be called saus.

"I don't know if he looks like a sausage or not, I don't know why it is - if he's got good skin and good skin complexion, I don't know.

"But that's about it - and Basher for Barry."

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