Luke David Ayling (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough.

Ayling was an unused substitute for a dead rubber 1–0 UEFA Champions League group stage defeat to Greek team Olympiacos on 9 December 2009.

[10] In March 2010, Ayling joined League One club Yeovil Town on loan for an initial month,[11] and on 2 April 2010, made his professional debut as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 draw away at Southend United.

[17] On 19 May 2013, Ayling played in the 2013 League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium as Yeovil beat Brentford 2–1 to earn promotion to the Championship.

[22] During the 2014–15 season, Ayling won the Football League Trophy, with Bristol City beating Walsall 2–0 at Wembley Stadium on 22 March 2015.

[25] Ayling signed for Championship rivals Leeds United for a fee of £200,000[26] in August 2016 after former Arsenal teammate Kyle Bartley recommended him to new head coach Garry Monk via a text message.

Following an injury to right-back Gaetano Berardi in the opening game against Queens Park Rangers, Monk decided to act and sign him on a three-year deal.

Characterised by a solid defence of Ayling, Bartley, Pontus Jansson and Gaetano Berardi, Leeds beat promotion rivals Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 to move into fourth place with only six games remaining.

[30] Ayling, along with teammates from that season Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas, Kalvin Phillips and Pablo Hernandez would provide much needed stability after years of questionable recruitment.

[31] The following 2017–18 season started brightly under new manager Thomas Christiansen with Leeds topping the table after nine games and the right–back signing a new four–year deal with the club in the autumn.

During the 0–0 draw, Ayling would sustain an ankle injury following a tackle by former Leeds teammate Liam Bridcutt ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Ayling would achieve personal milestones during the season, with his first goal for the club coming against Rotherham United and his 100th appearance later being made at home to Swansea City.

[36] He would make 42 appearances as Leeds slowly lost their grip on automatic promotion, having led the division at Christmas, before losing to Derby County in the play-offs.

[40] His first goal of the 2019–20 season came on 29 December 2019, in a 5–4 victory in a dramatic win against Birmingham City, with Ayling scoring a long range volley.

[50] On 19 August 2020, Ayling won the EFL Championship PFA Fans' Player of the Year for 2019/20 award after beating off competition from nominees including Ollie Watkins and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

He scored his first goal for Leeds in the Premier League in the 2021–22 season opener, coming in a 5–1 defeat to rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

[59] On 12 December 2021, Ayling joined a select group of just 70 players that have made over 200 appearances for the club,[60] including then teammates Stuart Dallas, Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips.