Birmingham and Boro 'ready to fight' for Leeds star as Wednesday forward drops hint ahead of Sunderland visit

Birmingham City are reportedly ready to compete with Middlesbrough and Sheffield United for the signing of Leeds United defender Luke Ayling.

The Elland Road stalwart slipped out of favour with Daniel Farke and joined Boro on loan for the remainder of the season during the January transfer window.  Ayling has impressive at the Riverside Stadium by providing six assists in 18 appearances for Michael Carrick’s side as missed out on a place in the Championship play-offs.

What comes next for Ayling remains to be seen as the former Bristol City and Yeovil Town defender is out of contract at the end of the campaign.  Boro are believed to be keen on a permanent deal for the 32-year-old and Sheffield United have also identified Ayling as a possible addition as they prepare for life back in the second tier following Saturday’s 5-1 defeat at Newcastle United.  However, The Sun have now claimed Birmingham are ‘ready to fight’ for Ayling’s signature at the end of the campaign and suggested a move to St Andrews is ‘a very real option’ for the defender.

Owls star drops future hint ahead of Sunderland visit

Sheffield Wednesday still have work to do as they prepare for Saturday’s visit to Sunderland.

The Owls travel to the Stadium of Light on the back of wins against Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion and know a point on Wearside would bring a successful end to their push for survival.  That is all a far cry from the first meeting of the two sides this season when the Black Cats eased to a 3-0 win at Hillsborough as their hosts floundered deep in relegation trouble.

But the mood could not be more different ahead of Saturday’s season-ending clash and that seems to have spread to one current member of the Owls squad that could leave the club after their Stadium of Light trip.  Josh Windass, the scorer of the winning goal in last season’s League One play-off final win against Barnsley, is out of contract this summer and he seems to have hinted he wants to remain with Wednesday in the aftermath of their impressive win against West Brom.

“What a club, what a place,” wrote Windass on his Instagram account.  “And my team mates, wouldn’t wanna play with a different group of boys.”