Leeds United have Garry Monk to thank for two Elland Road icons: View | OneFootball

Garry Monk spent just one season at Elland Road but was responsible for recruiting two modern-day Leeds United icons

Garry Monk may have spent just one season in charge of Leeds United, but he left a lasting legacy at Elland Road thanks to some of his transfer business.

Monk's time at Leeds saw the club just miss out on the play-offs, finishing seventh, a decent effort when you consider some of the off-field upheaval and mid-table finishes the club's support had become accustomed to in the seasons prior to his arrival.

The former Swansea City manager resigned as Leeds boss at the end of the 2016/17 season, leaving the club shocked, and while his time at Elland Road may have been short, supporters can thank him for signing two players during his tenure who would go onto become icons at the club.

Luke Ayling and Pablo Hernandez signed for Leeds from Bristol City and Al-Arabi respectively in the summer of 2016, and the pair played a hugely important role in the club's success that followed.

Garry Monk is to thank for Luke Ayling and Pablo Hernandez signings

It's fair to say that the Elland Road faithful had seen their fair share of flop signings in the years prior to Monk's arrival, particularly during the Massimo Cellino era.

However, Monk was a highly-rated manager at the time after helping Swansea to an 8th place finish in the Premier League during his only full season in management, and he proved a shrewd operator in the transfer market too.

Ayling was signed from Championship rivals Bristol City for a bargain fee, while Monk managed to convince his former Swans teammate Hernandez to leave Qatari outfit Al-Arabi for Elland Road, initially joining on a six-month loan deal.

They proved inspired moves, and it wasn't long before Spanish international Hernandez joined on a permanent basis, and the former Valencia man proved a class above the Championship.

The 2017/18 season saw Leeds return to mid-table following Monk's departure, but the years that followed saw Leeds enjoy huge success under Marcelo Bielsa, and both Ayling and Hernandez played vital roles in that.

Hernandez famously scored the last-gasp winner away to Swansea which all but sealed their return to the top-flight, and the pair were mainstays in Bielsa's Championship-winning side.

Monk didn't get the chance to reap the rewards from his summer 2016 signings, but it shouldn't be forgotten that he was the man who brought them to the club, and he handed Leeds United two modern-day icons.

Luke Ayling and Pablo Hernandez will always be fondly remembered by Leeds United supporters

Between the two of them, Ayling and Hernandez made a whopping 443 appearances for Leeds, and will always be immortalised for playing key roles in helping the club finally escape the Championship and return to the top-flight after 16 years away.

Hernandez left Leeds at the end of their 2020/21 campaign in the Premier League, with the Spaniard making an emotional farewell to Elland Road in their final game of the season, and it was clear just how much the club meant to him, and just how much the fans loved him.

The four-cap Spanish international turned 36 during Leeds' first season back in the top-flight, and while he didn't play as often as he'd have hoped, starting just three league games and making 13 appearances from the bench, it was clear he still was an important part of Bielsa's side, and it's testament to his quality that he was playing in the top-flight at that age.

Meanwhile, Ayling departed on a free transfer at the end of the 2023/24 season, but had spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Middlesbrough, meaning the writing was on the wall for his time at the club.

In total, the right-back spent eight years as a Leeds player, and he's certainly well thought of, with supporters making their feelings clear when he returned as part of a Middlesbrough side that dispatched Leeds 3-0 in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

Ayling and Hernandez will certainly go down as two Leeds United icons, and supporters have Monk's arrival in the summer of 2016 to thank for that.