A number of players will officially leave Leeds United today after a host of contracts expired ahead of the 2024-25 Championship campaign. Leeds confirmed their retained list earlier this month, with 11 players moving on from Elland Road.
Two of the stand-out names to be released once their deals ran out were two favourites from Marcelo Bielsa’s time at the club in Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas. Both men were a key part of the Whites side that won the Championship title in 2020 and played an important role as Bielsa guided Leeds to ninth in the Premier League in the 2020-21 campaign.
Dallas has already announced his retirement from playing due to a serious leg injury which he suffered back in April 2020. Ayling, meanwhile, has already secured his next club, after signing a two-year deal with Leeds’ Championship rivals Middlesbrough. He spent the second half of last season on loan at the Riverside Stadium and impressed head coach Michael Carrick enough to earn a permanent contract.
Ayling played 268 times for Leeds while Dallas made 267 appearances since his move from Brentford. Speaking about his time at Leeds earlier this year, Ayling said: “I came to Leeds eight years ago with a fiancee and I leave with an amazing wife, two beautiful children and memories that I will never forget.
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