‘He will cost a lot of money’- BBC pundit would ‘love’ Leeds to sign 22y/o
BBC Radio Leeds pundit Noel Whelan would “love” to see Leeds United sign Ben White on a permanent deal from Brighton.
White, 22, has spent the season on loan at Elland Road, playing a major role in the club’s bid for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
As it stands, the Championship season is on hold and a lot of doubt surrounds what will happen with nine games left to be played and players’ loan contracts running out at the end of June.
White’s contract is one of those but ex-Leeds striker Whelan has called on his former club to snap up the defender permanently when they can, even if it is an expensive deal.
“Oh God, I’d love to get him signed on a permanent,” he told Football Insider. “He’d be my first signing if we do go up to the Premier League.
“Such a real talent – he will end up playing for England at some point, there’s no doubt about that.
“He will cost a lot of money, but he would be worth it, that’s for sure. He’s got every kind of attribute you want from a centre-half in the modern game.
“The only problem is that there are a lot of other clubs who want him, and a lot of other clubs who could be playing in Europe, which could be a key decision for him.”
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding football at the moment but you would hope that once normality is restored – or at least close to normality – that Leeds push the boat out to try and sign White.
The 22-year-old has been so impressive this season.
Pontus Jansson’s exit in the summer was a bit of a headscratcher among some Leeds fans but the Sweden international has not been missed at all due to how well White has done.
As Whelan says, he definitely has the potential to play for England in the future but that could be an issue as other teams try to sign the Brighton centre-back.
Plus, don’t rule out Brighton wanting to keep him for themselves.
In other Leeds United news, fans have “goosebumps” over this tweet from the official Championship account.