Among the many issues surrounding Leeds United last season was the lack of a reliable option at right-back, with neither Luke Ayling nor Rasmus Kristensen having wholly convinced amid the club's tumble toward relegation.
In the case of Kristensen, the former Red Bull Salzburg man – who arrived on a £10m deal last summer – simply "failed to make the step up from the Austrian Bundesliga to the Premier League", in the words of writer Zach Lowy, having since moved on loan to Roma.
As for Ayling, the long-serving Englishman was something of a liability in possession as he recorded an average pass accuracy rate of just 69% and kept just two clean sheets from his 29 top-flight appearances.
Those woes have continued into the current campaign as the 32-year-old has "seriously struggled" in a defensive sense under Daniel Farke, as per fan pundit Kris Smith, thus heightening the need to find a suitable successor before too long.
Who could replace Luke Ayling at Leeds?
The versatile nature of the likes of Sam Byram and Jamie Shackleton could ensure that the pair can also operate at right-back if required, while the Yorkshire side only recently snapped up Djed Spence on a season-long loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur.
The 23-year-old – who previously helped Nottingham Forest to promotion back in 2021/22 – was hailed as the "real deal" by pundit Trevor Sinclair after joining Spurs last summer, albeit made just six appearances for his parent club prior to arriving at Elland Road.
Frustratingly for all concerned, the attack-minded full-back's lack of game time has continued so far this term as he has been restricted to just nine minutes of action due to injury, thus proving somewhat unreliable in his short time at the club so far.
With the one-time Middlesbrough man also only at Leeds on a temporary basis, the Championship side may need to consider finding a more long-term successor to Ayling moving forward, such as academy star, Kris Moore.
Who is Kris Moore?
The 19-year-old may be a centre-back by trade, although he has flourished in a right-back berth in the U21 set-up so far this season, having scored once and provided one assist in five appearances at Premier League 2 level.
Those goal contributions both came with the promising teenager captaining the side in the recent 3-2 defeat to Reading, taking his total tally at that age group to three goals and four assists in 55 outings across all fronts.
While not a particularly menacing attacking threat, it is defensively where the youngster appears to flourish, having been hailed as "solid" by Yorkshire Evening Post's Joe Donnohue amid his performances last term.
Prior to that, Moore had also been dubbed "superb" by journalist Josh Ramsbottom for his defensive prowess as well as his knack for "progressing the ball", thus indicating the impact he can make both in and out of possession when operating in the backline.
Such talent for the emerging gem – who was named on the bench for the Carabao Cup clash with Shrewsbury Town last month – was also evident in the EFL Trophy last season, having won 75% of his aerial duels as well as 62% of his total duels, while enjoying a solid 82% pass accuracy rate from his three outings in the competition.
Now with a new contract under his belt, it is fair to say that the future looks bright for the Leeds academy sensation at present, with the next step now for him to force his way into Farke's first-team plans – hopefully, at Ayling's expense.