Phil Hay delivers major Ben White update from Brighton side after Leeds table final £25m bid
Athletic journalist Phil Hay has reported that Ben White has turned down a third contract offer from Brighton amid a third offer from Leeds United.
Sky Sports [Transfer blog, 7:07pm] first reported that Leeds had tabled a third offer for White for £25m.
This claim was quickly repeated in a piece in The Athletic that added even more detail to the bid.
The Athletic reported that the £25m bid was an up-front fee with add-ons based on individual and team performances.
They also said that this would be Leeds’ final bid for a player but claimed that Brighton “have no interest in selling”.
However, there was one extra bit of information that should give Leeds fans hop.
The Athletic reported: “They [Brighton] remain in ongoing contract talks with White, who is understood to have turned down a third offer of a new deal.”
End game is nigh
Two takes from this. Either Ben White is holding out for more money from Brighton or he’s holding out for a move somewhere else.
Brighton aren’t under pressure to sell him if he doesn’t sign a new contract, but it definitely changes things.
He’s under contract until 2022. If he doesn’t sign a new contract and Brighton keep him, then he’ll have just one year left on his contract next summer – and that would definitely impact his price.
If Brighton have any hope of realising the £55m that Times journalist Duncan Castles said they were looking for next year, he’ll have to sign a new deal.
The only way that Brighton might be forced to sell him is if White himself tries to force through a move, first by asking for Bloom to let him go or secondly by putting in a formal transfer request.
Neither seems to have happened yet but we imagine that if White is desperate for a move to Leeds, it will if Brighton reject their final offer.
If Brighton reject the final offer from Leeds and nothing happens on Ben White’s side then you can safely assume that’s the end of things.
In other Leeds United news, Reliable journalist: Leeds locked in talks for striker after tabling £13.5m bid