"Steer clear" - Concern raised as Birmingham City enter Leeds United chase | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Ayling is currently on loan at Middlesbrough from Leeds United, but his contract at Elland Road is set to expire in the summer, meaning he will be available on a free transfer.

According to The Sun, Birmingham are ready to fight it out with Sheffield United for Ayling’s signature this summer.

The 32-year-old was a regular at Leeds for seven seasons but saw his game time limited this campaign, so joined Michael Carrick’s Boro in January for more minutes. The right-back has impressed at the Riverside, providing six assists in 18 games so far.

The move may fall on whether Birmingham manage to avoid relegation to League One this weekend. Going into the final day of the season, Birmingham need to beat Norwich City to realistically confirm their Championship status for another year.

Birmingham should “steer clear” of Luke Ayling

FLW's Birmingham fan pundit Mike Gibbs has said that Birmingham should avoid signing Ayling, citing their other options as reasoning for staying away from Ayling.

He said: “I don’t think we need him. With Laird already committed in terms of a long-term contract, the hope is Drameh will sign but I think that is going to be dependent on our league situation, whether we are in the Championship or League One.

“If you’ve got those two guys at right back I don’t think you need Luke Ayling as cover. He’s had a few run-ins with the Blues fans as well over the years, so I don’t think they would be overly keen on signing him.

“Plus I think he's on the wrong side of 30 now, for me it’s exactly the type of player we shouldn’t be signing. What we actually need to be signing is young, hungry, want to prove themselves, want to develop, and then with the hope of selling them on for a profit.

“So for me, it would be a no. I would steer clear.”

Birmingham should focus on keeping Cody Drameh instead

Birmingham’s current right-back options are Ethan Laird, who they signed on a three-year-deal from Manchester United last summer, and Cody Drameh on loan from Leeds United.

Laird is currently their only contracted option for next season, so right-back will be a priority position for depth in the summer. But if they stay up, Drameh should be Birmingham’s first choice to sign.

Drameh is 22 years old, and his contract is also up at Leeds in the summer. He has made 29 appearances for Birmingham, with 23 of those being starts. He has played over 2000 Championship minutes for the Blues this season.

Ayling has shown for Boro that he would provide himself as a good backup option, with his experience and know-how potentially being key.

But due to Drameh’s age and the fact he has already been at Birmingham this season, it seems a no-brainer to go for him instead, especially when he is also available on a free transfer.