Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling mustn’t let criticism affect him at Elland Road, as journalist Dean Jones provides GIVEMESPORT with his verdict on a player waiting to take his place in the side this season.

Head coach Daniel Farke aims to achieve promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking with the Whites.

Leeds news – Luke Ayling

It has been a difficult period of Ayling’s career at Leeds since the beginning of last season, a campaign which ultimately saw the Whites relegated from the Premier League. The 32-year-old played in the majority of the Yorkshire outfit’s fixtures last term, with head coaches Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce unable to stave off a return to the Championship, having gotten themselves promoted out of the division in 2020. The full-back did impress at points last season, with Jones telling GIVEMESPORT that he had pushed Rasmus Kristensen out of the side with his performances.

However, the reported £25,000 per-week earner has earned damning criticism after returning to the second-tier this term, in which Leeds have won just one of their opening five league fixtures. Leeds writer and fan Kris Smith recently spoke to Football League World and believes that Ayling’s days at Elland Road could be numbered after the Whites secured the signing of Tottenham Hotspur right-back Djed Spence on a season-long loan this summer.

He told the specialist EFL website: “Is Ayling going to be a starter? I think, at the moment, the opposite is the case for him. He’s seriously struggled in every game we’ve played so far this season defensively. We also now have one of the best full-backs in the league waiting for his chance to shine. Spence had 10 minutes off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday and completed just one less take-on than Ayling had completed all season so far, showing exactly what he’s going to bring to us. He can carry the ball past anyone in this division. I think his defensive credentials are something that people might question based on his time in the Championship with Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. But his recovery to stop Josh Windass at the weekend - which would’ve been 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday - has already got the fans onside in that regard. I think, at the moment, it’s an absolute no-brainer that we drop Ayling for him despite Ayling being a great servant for us.”

What has Jones said about Leeds and Ayling?

Jones believes that Ayling must brush off the criticism that comes his way but admits that Spence will expect to be handed a regular spot in Farke’s starting XI.

The journalist told GIVEMESPORT: “I feel like Leeds are finding it hard, at the moment, what to expect from the team. You see people like Ayling getting quite a bit of stick, which seems harsh based on everything he's done for Leeds. He's got to try not to let that get to him. But with Spence coming in, you would imagine he's doing that to get a regular starting berth.”

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How do Ayling and Spence compare with each other?

Following the conclusion of the first international break, it will be fascinating to see if Spence immediately forces Ayling out of Farke’s starting XI as they aim to kick-start their season in the coming weeks. Both players plied their trade in different leagues last season, but the comparison between them is fascinating.

According to FBref, Spence had a superior pass completion rate of 87.3% compared to Ayling’s 69.4%, though the former also made fewer passes throughout the campaign, attempting just 324 compared to the latter’s 1132. The Tottenham man is also favoured at tackling dribblers, successfully stopping 61.1%, whilst the Whites star could only manage 49.4%. However, there is a stark contrast in playing time, which heavily weighs in Ayling’s favour. The experienced full-back played in 60.1% of minutes last season, whilst Spence only managed 8.5%, most of which arrived during his loan spell at Stade Rennais.

But Spence’s last season in the Championship came as a regular in Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest outfit, where he successfully helped the Tricky Trees to promotion to the Premier League before earning a £20m move to Tottenham from Middlesbrough. Therefore, the 23-year-old will back himself to reach the heights of two seasons ago on his return to the second tier and force Ayling out of the team.

Ayling must back himself to continue to impress Farke over the next few weeks as the German head coach works out his settled starting XI heading into the autumn and winter months of the campaign.