MOT View: Leeds bid to sign Ben White appears over after key reliable journalist update
Leeds United’s bid to re-sign Ben White from Brighton appears to be over based on a new update by Mirror journalist David Anderson.
Writing on the Mirror’s live transfer blog on Wednesday [12:24pm], Anderson wrote that Leeds have hit an “impasse” in negotiations with Brighton, who refuse to sell the 22-year-old.
Leeds have reportedly tabled two bids worth up to £22.5million for White and would be prepared to pay “significantly more” because he’s Marcelo Bielsa’s main target this summer.
However, the Yorkshire club are said to be “disappointed” by Brighton’s refusal to sell White and the deadlock in negotiations does not look good at all for the newly-promoted side.
Leeds seem to be feeling they may have suffered defeat too with increased claims that Freiburg’s Robin Koch has emerged as a potential replacement if the former loan star cannot be re-signed.
Anderson writes about Koch in his update on the Mirror website while the Telegraph also reported Leeds’ interest in the Germany international at the weekend.
Of course, Leeds might not give up on re-signing White but the closer we get to the season starting, the tighter Brighton’s grip on the defender’s future will get.
You have to question Brighton’s stance a bit.
They have a lot of centre-backs in their squad and have even added more to their options this summer with Joel Veltman arriving from Ajax.
Brighton survived the fight against relegation last season with the centre-backs they have at the club already and if big money is on offer for a player who has never played for them, why not take it?
White did so well at Elland Road last season but what if he never plays as good for Graham Potter as he did for Marcelo Bielsa?
Bielsa gets the best out of players – he is one of the best coaches in the world.
Potter has done well in his career so far but we really don’t see how he can get the performances out of White that Bielsa did – if White plays, that is.
In other Leeds United news, this Leeds-linked centre-back is set to say goodbye to his club.