Luke Ayling tackles Cody Drameh fight and addresses 18-month demise at Leeds United - Leeds Live 26/7/23
Leeds United could have two of the best right-backs in the Championship fighting for one spot next season with Luke Ayling and Cody Drameh battling it out
Competition is to be expected when you play for a football
club like Leeds United. Luke Ayling is relishing the battle with Cody Drameh
for right-back minutes next season.
Drameh, 21, has impressed on loan for two consecutive
seasons in the Championship, but now he has the chance to put down a marker
with his parent club at the same level. The former Fulham trainee was crowned
Cardiff City’s Player of the Year after playing less than half the 21/22
campaign, while he was also a fixture in Luton Town’s watertight backline and
run to winning the play-offs at Wembley this year.
With Rasmus Kristensen now shipped out to Roma on loan, the
way has been paved for Drameh to assert himself three years after arriving.
Ayling, 31, is not shying away from the fight for his shirt.
“I play for Leeds United,” he said. “I expect a bit of competition.
It’s good.”
Ayling is about to embark on his eighth full season with the
Whites. After eight years in the EFL with Yeovil Town and Bristol City,
Ayling’s highs under Marcelo Bielsa and lows of the past two seasons have
moulded an experienced pro with a major influence in the dressing room.
The highs of that 2020 Championship title win remain some of
Ayling’s most treasured memories in football. He only wishes the fans had been
in the grounds to experience that run-in and eventual elation.
After the expenditure of blood, sweat and tears needed to
reach the top flight, the pain of United’s recent demise has been hard on
Ayling. He admits it is more than just one bad season. He and the rest of the
squad have seen this coming over a longer period.
“It was real hard, but I don’t think it was just last year,”
he said. “It’s been a build-up of 18 months. We have to finally put it behind
us and we, as a club, have got to look forward. We can't keep looking back.
“It's a great challenge for us. I've been promoted here
before and I was very sad the fans weren't there to see it.
“We worked so hard to get this club promoted and then we had
to celebrate by ourselves. As soon as that last game was done, it took a bit of
time to get over it, but then all my focus was to make sure, come the end of
the season, we can be out there with the fans.”
Having United’s supporters inside Elland Road and the other
23 grounds in the Championship is one of the carrots Ayling is holding onto as
they make their EFL return.
“When I signed here eight years ago, I dreamed of getting
this club back to the Premier League and we did it,” he said. “It was still
unbelievable, it was still a great achievement and we still had a great time,
but there was always that one thing missing.
“That was the fans inside Elland Road. Then afterwards a bus
tour and all this kind of stuff. We’ve got to look forward and, hopefully, we
can do it, but we know it's not going to be as easy as just turning up and just
getting promoted because it's such a hard league to get out of.
“You've seen teams that have come down and stayed down for a
long time. We know it's going to be a hard season.”