Ayling has starred for Leeds during the 2018-19 campaign.
The Yorkshire Evening Post’s chief football reporter Phil Hay has told the LS11 Podcast that Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa instructed defender Luke Ayling to lose more than half a stone upon his return to pre-season training this summer.
Ayling, 27, has starred on the right side of defence for Leeds this season as the Whites, as Bielsa continues to inspire the Yorkshire outfit to the top of the Championship table.
Former Bristol City defender Ayling is one of the first names on the team sheet and has started every single one of Leeds’ eight Championship matches – including Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Preston, and captaining the club twice.
Hay claimed that he spoke to Ayling during a recent charity hospital trip, and the ex-Arsenal academy star informed the Yorkshire Evening Post reporter that Bielsa told him to lose four kilograms – or 63 per cent of a stone.
“As far as he was concerned, he was in very good shape in the summer after he worked hard following his ankle injury,” Hay said. “Looking at him, he is one of the leaner players.
“You know as well as I do, these days players never come back from the summer unfit. They tend to be at optimum weight. But Ayling came back in and Bielsa told him he needed to lose four kilograms.
“That was the same for players across the squad. It was all very stringent, they all had to meet weight targets. Pre-season became 12-hour days.”
Since joining Leeds two years ago from Bristol City, Ayling has clocked up 82 appearances for the Whites in all competitions and even opened his account this season in the 2-0 win over Rotherham United.
Leeds are next in action on Saturday afternoon, as they go up against Garry Monk’s struggling Birmingham City side who remain in the bottom three after failing to win once this season. That could change on Wednesday, as they play Sheffield United.
