Brighton and Hove Albion are ready to give defender Ben White the green light to secure a one-season loan deal with Leeds United, according to Football Insider.
White has been linked with a summer move to Elland Road fairly regularly over the past few weeks, after it emerged Marcelo Bielsa was ready to give the 21-year-old a chance in the Championship, having rejected his portfolio when club scouts put his case to the boss upon his arrival.
Preliminary talks have now been carried out between the West Yorkshire and the East Sussex side, who feel the Whites could give their academy product the chance to accelerate his development by making the step up from League One.
The Poole-born ace made 15 appearances in the third-tier during the latter half of the 2018/19 season while on loan with Peterborough, with whom he scored only the second goal of his professional career.
Despite being highly rated by club chiefs at the Amex, the door to the first-team is currently closed to White at Brighton, and the 5 ft 9 centre-half is expected to fall further down the Seagull’s pecking order should they complete a deal for Matt Clarke.
The Portsmouth defender has been attracting the interest of Stoke City and Leeds, as well, but it is claimed the Premier League strugglers are in advanced talks with the Fratton Park natives over a £3.9million deal, after new boss Graham Potter pinpointed the 22-year-old as one of his top targets.
Clarke’s arrival at the Amex Stadium is understood to be as Potter’s third-choice centre-back, with established pair Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk retaining their senior roles.