Marcelo Bielsa gives huge vote of confidence to Leeds defender Luke Ayling

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Leeds United defender Luke Ayling should receive a a major boost when he hears comments from manager Marcelo Bielsa about him.

The 27-year-old has been struggling for form in recent times and made several individual mistakes in games, but his boss has heaped praise on him on Tuesday.

Bielsa has continued his trend of announcing his starting XI before games ahead of Swansea City on Wednesday and Ayling will regain his spot once again, as cited by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The Argentinian manager has defender the right-back too and is adamant he’s still a crucial player for the team.

“For me Bill (Ayling) is a great player. He’s a complete player and by complete I mean he can manage all aspects of the game,” Bielsa said, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account.

“He can defend as a full back and centre back and his aerial game is something that isn’t common. He’s very important for this team.”

Ayling’s recent form should see him axed from the starting line-up, but Bielsa views otherwise and will continue with him.

The English full-back has another lifeline to regain his best form and when he’s on top of his game he can be a dependable figure in defence.

He needs to get back to being the attack-minded full-back that offers plenty going forward and try to be more switched on in his own half too.

Leeds youngster Jamie Shackleton is an option waiting in reserve to come in at right-back, but the decision to stick with Ayling through a poor spell shows Bielsa trusts him and back him to play himself out of trouble.