Bristol City: Lee Johnson should always be remembered for getting Leeds United transfer call badly wrong - View | OneFootball

Luke Ayling joined Leeds United for a minimal fee and Lee Johnson will be remembered for getting it horribly wrong.

Highlights

Lee Johnson joined Bristol City in February 2016 following the sacking of Steve Cotterill. The manager's time in the South West was something of a mixed bag, but he should always be remembered for selling Luke Ayling to Leeds United at such a cut-price fee.

The Robins are normally a club that perform wonders in the market, with deals like that of Andy Cole to Newcastle United and Alex Scott to AFC Bournemouth two notable ones in the club's history.

But this one they got horribly wrong and a player that could have been demanding a large seven-figure fee ended up being sold for £500,000 in Johnson's first transfer window in charge.

Luke Ayling's time at Bristol City warranted more

An Arsenal youth product, Ayling, got his first chance in men's football at Yeovil Town, where he spent four seasons after a successful loan spell in 2009-10. Having helped the Somerset club secure promotion to the Championship in 2012-13, he would go on to display his second tier ability despite the Glovers' relegation a year later.

These performances earned him a move to Ashton Gate as the Robins targeted promotion from the third tier. Ayling's previous experience in the division with Yeovil was clearly a key factor in his signing, as at-the-time manager Steve Cotterill admitted: "He was instrumental in the club's (Yeovil) promotion from League One and did very well in the Championship last season, winning a raft of awards"

Under Cotterill, Ayling had a massive influence on the side as he featured in all but one league game up until the manager's departure in January 2016.

Johnson took over as manager of the Robins a month later, but his early tenure saw limited appearances for Ayling, who was hampered by a knee injury that kept him out for several games.

The summer of 2016 arrived and for Johnson, this was a chance to make an impression on the squad.

Following pre-season, he made a huge call to get rid of Ayling, with Leeds United offering £500,000 for his services, which the South West club duly accepted.

In hindsight, his injury mid-season can't have been helpful to his chances under the new regime, but in an interview with The Athletic, via Bristol Live, he disclosed the reasoning behind his departure.

"I had a good first season and played every game under Steve Cotterill but then I got injured, Cotts got the sack (in January 2016) and Lee Johnson came in,

"I knew pretty much from the off that things weren't going to go well - from things around the training ground and things (Johnson) said to me.

Ayling starred at Leeds

Bristol City's misfortune was capitalised on by Leeds, who grabbed themselves a bargain by signing Ayling on the cheap.

The defender played 268 games for them, becoming a club legend in the process as he helped his side return to the top tier of English football back in 2020. During that time, goals were somewhat rare, but when he did score it was usually a screamer.

He's captained Leeds on plenty of occasions and had the honour of skippering the side in their first game back in the Premier League, which saw them defeated 4-3 by Liverpool in September 2020.

With his career soon coming to a close, Lee Johnson must look back on his 2016 decision to sell Ayling as one of the worst he made during his Bristol City tenure. Had he kept him at BS3, it is quite possible that the right-back would still be there now or would have commanded a much larger fee post-2016.

In the right-back's case, making the move to Elland Road was a superb choice as he is now one of the faces in a large part of Leeds United's history.