During October of last year, Luke Ayling became the latest Leeds player to put pen to paper on a new long-term deal at Elland Road, following in the footsteps of the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper who had done so in the weeks prior.And the initial impression from Leeds fans about the news was one of skepticism.

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Some supporters suggested that handing a multi-year deal to Ayling just didn't seem to show much ambition considering they were going for Premier League promotion this season, claiming that he may not be good enough at that level.

One fan admitted that whilst they were accepting of the defender getting a new contract, they were a bit shocked at seeing the club tie him down for the next four years, and suggested that they were "setting ourselves up for problems".

But as the season has panned out, Marcelo Bielsa and Victor Orta have been proven absolutely right in their decision to extend Ayling's deal.

The 28-year-old has proven himself to be a bit of an unsung hero at Elland Road, contributing in many different ways for the first-team. He has scored four goals and provided a further four assists in 29 games across all competitions, whilst his average match rating of 7.31 in the Championship, actually ranks him first amongst all Leeds players.

He has been Mr Consistent for Bielsa, and his role in helping the Whites to first-place in English football's second tier means that fans were wrong to have any reservations about his contract back in October.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay reveals how close Leeds were to signing Jarrod Bowen.