I pinch myself that I’m here
LUKE LOVING LIFE IN BIG TIME
The Leeds defender is open, honest, engaging and appreciative of the fact he reached the big time of the Premier League before it was too late.
He plucked up the courage to ask Ellie Goulding to sing at his wedding to wife Poppy during lockdown, cried when manager Marcelo Bielsa was sacked and admits he did not have a clue who Jesse Marsch was when appointed as his new boss.
No wonder Ayling has become such a cult figure at Elland Road that there are murals in his honour dotted around the city.
And Ayling, 30, admits he loves the attention now he is a recognisable face in the most famous league in the world.
“I still have to pinch myself that I’m playing here,” said Ayling. “I go on the field every game feeling unbelievable that I’m up against all these great players.
“When we got promoted I was sh ****** myself at the prospect of facing them all. They felt like super heroes. You kind of worry about how you’ll get on but the first season back filled me with confidence.
“I’m just buzzing I’m able to play in the Premier League. It’s weird though. I don’t see myself like that, as someone people look up to. I’m just a normal guy whose done all right for himself.
“People recognising me is still hard to get my head around. I’ve only had it in the past few years but it’s a nice feeling. I enjoy it. I’d imagine for some of the players who have had it since being young it can get tedious but I enjoy it when someone asks me for a picture.” So how did he end up having Grammy nominee Goulding serenade him at his nuptials?
He said: “She came to our last game of the season with her husband Caspar and then the awards do. She was sat at a table close to me and I’d had a few drinks, so I thought I’d go up and ask her if she was free for my wedding.
“We’d picked one of her songs for our first dance. I was introduced to her and said, ‘Ellie, if you’re not doing anything on June 9, do you fancy coming to sing at my wedding?’ She said yes straight away. I just thought, we’ve had a few drinks, she won’t turn up. But the next morning she messaged saying she was really up for it.
“It was unbelievable. We came in for the first dance, she sang three songs, had some drinks and stayed the night. She made our wedding day really special.”
Back-to-back wins over Norwich and Wolves have breathed new life into Leeds’ chances of beating the drop ahead of today’s visit of Southampton.
Ayling, who scored the winner at Molineux, added: “It’s huge. We’ve worked so hard to get here and won’t give it up without a massive fight.”