Former Middlesbrough defender and clean sheet king Daniel Ayala is said to be training with League One’s Bristol Rovers after being released by Blackburn Rovers in the summer.
According to The Bristol Post reporter Dan Hargraves, the Spaniard is being allowed to train with Rovers with a view to securing a deal with the League One club.
Joey Barton-who worked with Boro’s Josh Coburn last season-and his coaching staff will weigh up whether or not to pursue the option of signing the out-of-contract centre-back who has plenty of experience and still made 23 appearances for Blackburn in the Championship last season.
Of course Boro fans will remember with fondness the battling qualities of the former Boro defender who was a key part of Aitor Karanka’s 2015/16 promotion side. That miserly defence kept a record nine consecutive clean sheets in that season and conceded only 31 goals throughout the whole 46-match campaign as they finished 2nd behind Burnley.
Incredible record
Despite not being in the same bracket as the swashbuckling style of Carrick’s reign, the Karanaka side that recorded an incredible 50 clean sheets in 108 games, will always be-quite rightly-celebrated. That promotion side had Dimi Konstantopolous in goal, Ayala and Ben Gibson at centre-back and then the screen of Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter in front of them.
Injury struggles
Ayala formed a rock-solid partnership with left-sided centre-back Ben Gibson and as well as being seen as a no-nonsense type of defender, he was also adept at popping up with important goals. I remember a particular occasion at an away match I went to at Nottingham Forest in that promotion season where the Boro defence, expertly marshalled by Ayala, had to weather a wave of Forest attacks and even survived a penalty kick which was saved by Dimi Konstantopolous. Only to go up the other end and somehow grab a win with a typical Ayala header.
It may come as a surprise to some that Daniel Ayala is till only 32-years-old, that is probably because injuries have blighted his career, but if he can still make as many appearances as he did in the Championship last season, you would imagine that he is worth the risk for a League One club to take their chances.
Michael Carrick has made the point often enough about the importance of having certain characters around the group and in the dressing room at a football club, not just players with ability on the pitch.
So an experienced competitor like Ayala, who has amassed 356 career appearances (216 with Boro) would surely be a coup for any club at that level.