Leeds United took in Ben White when many fans thought it an act of madness. They say that there’s a fine line between madness and genius. In the end, it wasn’t in doubt that he’d succeed at Elland Road – the genius of Marcelo Bielsa saw to that. Now, referring to two articles by The Athletic’s Phil Hay and Sky Sports, Leeds United should turn to three big factors working in their favour to land the youngster.
Ben White arrived at Elland Road on loan for the entirety of last season. Besides a couple of loan spells with Newport County (League Two) and Peterborough (League One), he’d had no extended first-team game time; he’d certainly never played at a level as high as the Sky Bet Championship!
That all changed this season just gone – White arriving as the replacement for Pontus Jansson at the West Yorkshire giants. Marcelo Bielsa had his ballplaying centre-back, Leeds United fans had a new hero and the backroom staff at the club now have a new headache.
That headache is that Leeds United and Bielsa have turned a relative nobody into a definite somebody and bigger clubs are now aware of just how good Ben White is. What Brighton had spent many years doing, Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United did it over 46 games and 4140+ minutes. That’s why the Whites want White. That’s why the Whites have made two unsuccessful bids to land White.
However, reading into the Phil Hay and Sky Sports articles, there are three very big factors which could come into play that could give Leeds United hope of landing Ben White on a permanent deal.
Three big factors in Leeds United’s favour re Ben White
- His salary deficit at Brighton: Phil Hay says that White’s salary “is a mile below” the big, first-team defenders at the club. He says that should the Seagulls want to keep him then they will have to offer him a big increase. That would upset others at the club, especially if his salary leap-frogged their own.
- Down the pecking order: Phil Hay says that Brighton owner Tony Bloom told The Athletic that they have an “abundance of centre-backs” with the implication here being that they have too many on the books. Does Brighton give White what he wants and risk upsetting the apple-cart?
- Sky Sports write that Leeds have had a second knock-back from Brighton – a proposal from Leeds worth £22m dismissed out-of-hand. They have a seemingly strong position with Ben White’s deal still having two years left to run and with Brighton having the option of a further year. However, as they point out, Ben White has “turned down two contract offers from Brighton.”
A view from The72 – taking chips away from Seagulls
Those three factors (above) are all relevant things that Leeds United should seize upon when they return with a third bid. That will be a third bid that will definitely come.
The above are just small ripples in an ever-widening series of bigger ripples. You have the COVID-19 pandemic to consider and the factor that will play on Brighton’s thinking if Leeds come back with a ‘take it or leave it’ offer. Big money at times like this could lead to many a changed decision.
Then there’s the player himself. He really bonded at Leeds United; not only with Bielsa’s methods but also with the players themselves. That might not have a meteoric sway but it does have some sway in matters. He said as much in his Instagram post farewell.
As Phil Hay points out – Leeds United wouldn’t be messing around on this knowing that a deal for White was “dead in the water.” Truth be told, they are confident they can lend their man.