Luke Ayling reveal will spike real interest at Middlesbrough and Leeds United: View | OneFootball

Luke Ayling's end of season form at Middlesbrough is showing the Championship that he still has plenty to offer.

The Riverside Stadium has provided a stage for multiple players thought to be heading towards the scrapheap, to demonstrate they still have tread on their tyres in recent years.

Duncan Watmore, Sol Bamba, and even the current Boro captain who continues to age like a fine wine, Jonny Howson, to name but a few.

And so, it shouldn't be a surprise then to see veteran defender Ayling arrive on Teesside and put in performances that may well have a few people in West Yorkshire scratching their heads, as to why he was allowed to head North.

But what has been surprising to see from the 32-year-old right-back is not his solid defensive abilities, rather the threat he's been posing in attack.

Ayling attacking Middlesbrough opportunity

When Ayling made his loan move to Middlesbrough in January, many thought he'd simply be a short-term fix in a position where - predominantly through injury - Boro had commonly been left with no natural right-back fit to play.

And despite the odd rusty performance here and there, the previous Championship title winner has largely been putting in displays that are some of the best the club have seen from that position in recent seasons.

But since the beginning of March, however, Ayling has taken the attacking aspect of his game to a level which has had many fans rubbing their eyes, questioning whether that's really who they thought that was creating goals.

As per the post above from Opta Stats' Jonny Cooper, no player from Premier League down to League Two has more open play assists than Ayling's five since the beginning of March.

So, now that this unforeseen element of his game has revealed itself, Ayling must surely be playing his way towards a permanent contract at Middlesbrough in the summer.

Boro boss Michael Carrick may well have seen enough to suggest that, at the very least, he can serve as an invaluable piece of squad depth for multiple seasons yet.

That's the question that is surely being asked among those connected with Leeds United, as they look to secure a return to Premier League football next season.

Youngster Archie Gray is undoubtedly an outstanding prospect, and has largely been excellent for the Whites this season, but it's well documented that right-back is not his natural position.

Therefore, having seen what Ayling has been able to produce on Teesside, would Daniel Farke perhaps have been better served keeping his club hero, and in turn, enabling the continued development of his starlet in his natural central midfield role?

Welsh international Connor Roberts has yet to do enough to suggest he could be a viable option in the Premier League (should Leeds get there), and at the present time he looks likely to begin next season - in all likelihood - as a Championship player once again with parent club Burnley.

It must be acknowledged that Junior Firpo's five assists in 23 Championship matches - per FotMob - have gone a long way to improving Leeds' attacking output, but that's been from left-back.

And so it begs the question. Would Leeds be in a better position to make an immediate return to the top flight had they kept Ayling for what is proving to be a tricky finishing line to cross? Based on his exploits at Middlesbrough, you'd have to say yes.