Leeds Director of Football Victor Orta must re-roll the dice next summer in search of Marcelo Bielsa’s first-choice central defender, as Brighton & Hove Albion rejected United’s advances to sign Ben White on a loan-to-buy deal, according to Football Insider.
Bielsa initially targeted the promising 5 ft 9 ace as a defender that could offer support to captain Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson this season, but the Sweden international’s departure to Wednesday night’s opponent Brentford ushered the Seagulls product closer to the top of the pecking order.
Despite potentially being the boss’ third-choice centre-half, Leeds attempted to secure a loan-to-buy arrangement with the South Coast side similar to our deal for Wolverhampton Wanderers-owned winger Helder Costa – who we will sign permanently next summer, in a deal worth up to £15million.
It is thought United chiefs pushed White’s Premier League side Brighton to accept a temporary deal for the young centre-back, which carried an obligation to buy next summer for an undisclosed fee. However, the Seagulls are confident he has the raw potential to mature into a top-flight worthy defender at the Amex Stadium, and not just someone who thrives in the lower divisions.
White’s efforts in the Championship for the Whites have been mightily impressive, so far, with the 21-year-old making the step up from League One action to form a solid partner for Cooper.
In his first three second-tier fixtures, the Brighton loanee has won all bar one of his nine attempted tackles, completed seven interceptions, blocked two passes and a shot, and found a teammate with 166 of his 194 attempted passes.
United are set to lose the 5 ft 9 ace next summer after our loan-to-buy offer was rejected by Brighton, though, and Orta faces the prospect of re-rolling the dice at the end of the term to once again fill the void in Bielsa’s backline.
Leeds’ Under 23s star Pascal Struijk is currently displaying great potential in the junior ranks with Carlos Corberan’s side, and visibly led from the back as we opened the new Professional Development League season with a 3-2 win over Millwall on Monday.
Assured performances in the Carabao Cup this season, like his display against the Lions, could see that Bielsa looks to the former Netherlands U17 international for more of his matchday squads, and potentially save the club needing to re-enter the transfer market for a first-choice defender.