"No chance" - Pundit reacts as Birmingham City join Sheffield United in race to sign Leeds player | OneFootball

Former England midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Birmingham City would have no chance of signing Luke Ayling if the club suffered relegation to League One.

Birmingham City join the race for Luke Ayling

It was reported by The Sun that Birmingham City have now joined the race to sign Leeds United defender Luke Ayling.

The 32-year-old is out of contract at Elland Road at the end of this season, and it looks likely that he will be leaving the club for free.

Leeds decided to loan out Ayling in January, and he has been with Middlesbrough since, a side that is keen on making the deal into a permanent switch.

However, they are not the only sides interested in the experienced defender, as this new update also states that recently relegated Sheffield United are also interested in signing Ayling this summer.

Carlton Palmer: Birmingham City have no chance of signing Luke Ayling if not in the Championship

Here, we asked former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer for his thoughts on Birmingham City joining the race for Luke Ayling.

Palmer believes Luke Ayling will be looking to join a club that will have a chance of promotion next season, and if Birmingham drop into League One, they will have no chance of signing the defender.

Palmer exclusively told Football League World: “Birmingham City have joined the race for Luke Ayling. He’s been much sought after at the moment; he's been on loan at Middlesbrough, where he's done very very well.

“Sheffield United have registered an interest, and I'm sure there are other clubs going to be looking at Luke, who is still relatively young, and he brings a lot to the table with his experience, with his professionalism, and I don't know whether Tony Mowbray would have a bearing on whether Luke would join Birmingham City, but I would think Middlesbrough if they're keen to re-sign him would be a very appealing bet to Luke Ayling.

“I think Luke will be looking at a club, I think he was thinking that Middlesbrough were going to kick on and get into the play-off positions and probably kick on from there.

“It hasn't happened, they have had a really good second-half of the season. Unfortunately, they're going to finish maybe about six or seven points short of a play-off place, which is really remarkable considering that Michael Carrick was not allowed to do a lot of business in the summer and not a lot of business in January.

“Three wins out there last six, two draws and one defeat, and they've run it really really close to get to play-offs.

“So, I think Luke will look at a club where there's a chance of getting promotion back to the Premier League. Boro will be one of those clubs you would think next season with Michael Carrick.

“The club is going to have to step up in the transfer market in the summer to keep him happy because he's been linked with a lot of clubs and if he's not going to get the success with Middlesbrough, he eventually will move on.

“Sheffield United, of course, we know getting relegated, and you would fancy them under Chris Wilder to be a strong proposition in the Championship and both of those clubs you would think will be ahead of Birmingham City in terms of signing the player.

“Birmingham City, as we stand, are still not assured of staying in the Championship and, of course, if Birmingham are not in the Championship they would have no chance of signing Luke Ayling.”

Luke Ayling would be an excellent addition for Birmingham City

Birmingham City showing interest in Luke Ayling makes perfect sense for the football club, as he would be an excellent addition for the Blues.

The defender has got an enormous amount of experience at this level, so given he is going to become a free agent, it is understandable why teams such as Birmingham are looking to sign the player.

However, as Carlton Palmer suggests, you would expect Ayling to be looking to join a side that he knows can compete at the top end of the league and have a chance of securing promotion.

Birmingham have really struggled this season and still haven’t guaranteed their Championship status, so he could decide the Blues are not right for him, whether they stay in the league or not.