Here are your latest Leeds United morning headlines for Thursday, January 26.
Ex-Leeds United midfielder Jody Morris becomes bookies' favourite for Swindon Town job
Former Leeds United, Chelsea and Millwall midfielder Jody Morris has emerged as the new favourite for the managerial vacancy at Swindon Town, according to the Swindon Advertiser.
Scott Lindsey left his post at the County Ground earlier this month to join fellow League Two rivals Crawley Town after just five months at the helm.
Read more: How Leeds United's midfield line-up could evolve if Weston McKennie signs
Morris had a successful spell with Chelsea Academy, before serving as assistant manager under Frank Lampard at Derby County and Chelsea respectively.
Marc Bircham, Kieron Dyer, Chris Hughton and David Artell have also been linked with the Swindon job, but Morris is reportedly the 'stand-out candidate'.
The report adds that a deal is almost agreed, and the delay in announcing the club's new head coach is down to negotiations for Morris' assistant.
Luke Ayling has won his biggest Leeds United battle to force re-think of summer plan
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Luke Ayling take more of a backseat role this weekend when Leeds United travel to face Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. Jesse Marsch is expected to name a strong side to take on the League One outfit, but he’ll be keen to rotate in a couple of positions and hand some of his star performers a rest at the Wham Stadium.
Ayling may well be involved off the bench, but the head coach could go with Rasmus Kristensen or Cody Drameh on Saturday. The full-back should and probably will start the club’s next Premier League contest against Nottingham Forest, though, and that shows just how far the 31-year-old has come to wrestle back his place at the top of the Elland Road pecking order.
The defender was always going to have a battle on his hands this season if he was to keep the spot he has held for six seasons prior to this summer. The arrival of Rasmus Kristensen was seen as natural squad progression as the club backed Marsch by bringing the Denmark international, who he had at Red Bull Salzburg, to West Yorkshire.
Weston McKennie noise, Jack Harrison links and Chris Armas on Jesse Marsch's Leeds United agenda
Jesse Marsch faces the media on Thursday afternoon for his pre-match press conference. The Leeds United head coach will take questions from television, radio, print and online journalists at Thorp Arch ahead of the Aston Villa clash on Friday.
Here is a run-down of some of the main topics on the agenda for the American to address at the training ground today.
As ever, Marsch is likely to open the press conference with a statement on where his team is at medically. As of Sunday afternoon, we were dealing with four senior absentees: Adam Forshaw, Liam Cooper, Crysencio Summerville and Stuart Dallas.
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