Rovers have filled the hole in the heart of their defence with the signing of former Middlesbrough and Liverpool centre-back, Daniel Ayala. The Spaniard, who arrives at Ewood Park on a free transfer has penned a three-year deal in Lancashire, which will expire in 2023.
Rovers’ new #5, who recently became a free-agent after refusing to extending his contract at the Riverside, following the 2019-20 season’s extension beyond 30th June, reportedly had numerous offers on the table, including a lucrative deal from the Middle East, yet the 29-year old decided to put his career ahead of his bank balance and pen a deal at Ewood Park.
The one-time Spain under-21 international arrives at Rovers having spent his whole career within the top two tiers of English football. Although his Premier League experience has limited him to just 26 games across his times at Liverpool, Norwich City and Middlesbrough – the latter of which he scored for, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace during the 2016-17 season – Ayala’s experience in playing in, and getting promoted from the Championship is strong, given he’s donned the shirt of three different clubs, besides ‘Boro in the second tier.
After emerging from the youth team of Liverpool, after the Anfield club snapped him up from his hometown club of Sevilla in 2007, Ayala spent most of his Liverpool career commanding the defence of their varying youth and reserve teams. As part of the youth setup at Anfield, Ayala made it to the final of the 2008-09 FA Youth Cup, where the Reds’ youthful which included the likes of Stoke City winger Tom Ince and Derby County full-back Andre Wisdom, fell to a comprehensive defeat to Arsenal’s academy, which itself included the likes of West Ham United’s Jack Wilshere and Villarreal’s Francis Coquelin. Despite that disappointment, then-manager Rafael Benítez clearly saw enough of Ayala to offer him his senior debut, after he came on as a substitute for an injured Martin Škrtel, in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the 2009-10 season. That first appearance was soon followed by a start, a full complement of minutes and a first senior clean sheet in Liverpool’s 4-0 home win against Stoke City, only three days after the Spurs defeat. Those back-to-back appearances were soon followed up by three more games over the course of 2009-10 – including another 4-0 win; this time against Burnley at Turf Moor, which subsequently relegated the Clarets.
The 2010-11 season saw Ayala’s first foray into the Championship as he first signed for Hull City on a short-term loan, which was soon extended until January 2011, before he soon found himself temporarily at Derby County in February 2011. Ayala’s first loan stint of 2010-11 at Hull saw him play in 12 of a possible 15 Championship games – including a goal at future club Derby – before his loan deal was cut short by Liverpool during the last few days of December 2010. Following the termination of his loan at the KCOM Stadium, February 2011 saw him see out the rest of the campaign at Derby County, where he was given another 17 Championship outings at Pride Park, which racked his 2010-11 tally to 29 games out of a possible 46.
The summer of 2011 saw Ayala swap the glamour of Liverpool for the robustness of newly-promoted Norwich City, who came into the 2011-12 top flight under the guidance of former Rovers boss, Paul Lambert. Ayala, who made the switch for around £800,000 found it hard to establish himself within the impressive Canaries side – which included current and ex-Rovers players in Elliott Bennett, Bradley Johnson, Simeon Jackson and Elliott Ward – and his cause wasn’t helped by niggling injuries and the good form of the Norwich backline. His lack of game-time for the Canaries saw him depart back to the Midlands on loan for 2012-13, this time to Nottingham Forest. During his time at the City Ground, Ayala made 12 appearances in the league – including a goal at home to Cardiff City – and two in the League Cup.
By the start of 2013-14, Ayala’s chances of gate-crashing his way into the Norwich City side looked slim. This saw him loaned out to Middlesbrough for three-months, by current Rovers assistant Mark Venus, who was acting as caretaker at ‘Boro, after Rovers boss Tony Mowbray, was dismissed from his hometown club, two days prior to Ayala’s arrival. The Spaniard’s impact on Teesside proved instant as he scored three and assisted one in his first eight games for ‘Boro, all of which came under the stewardship of Venus. After Aitor Karanka was installed into the hotseat at the Riverside in November 2013, his first priority was to tie Ayala down to a permanent deal, which is what he did in January 2014 as the manager made his fellow compatriot, his first signing on Teesside, for a reported £350,000 – a fee that would prove to be a bargain given his eventual seven years of service.
During his time at Middlesbrough, Ayala played a pivotal role in their 2014-15 run to the Playoff Final, where they narrowly missed out on a spot back in the Premier League, after losing 2-0 to Ayala’s former club, Norwich City at Wembley. That did not deter Ayala and ‘Boro however, as they came back the next season and managed to put together a run during the 2015-16 season to seal their promotion back into the Premier League after a seven-year absence, as Karanka’s Middlesbrough side finished second, with 22 clean sheets to their name, with Ayala helping towards 17 of the 22. In addition to helping his team return to the top tier, Ayala had individual recognition as he was named into the PFA Championship Team of the Year, as well as being named the PFA Fans’ Championship Player of the Year for 2015-16. Despite being relegated from the Premier League in 2016-17, Ayala and ‘Boro – now with Tony Pulis at the helm – narrowly missed out on a second Championship playoff final in three years, after they were beaten in the semi-final by the eventual losing finalists, Aston Villa.
Here’s hoping that the Spaniard, who now leaves ‘Boro with 23 goals and 74 league clean sheets from 216 games, will bring that defensive solidity and occasional goal-scoring prowess to Ewood Park!
