Leeds News

“Very, very composed”: Bielsa’s summer plans are paying dividends as Leeds ace hailed by pundit

|

Danny Mills has hailed on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion defender Ben White following Leeds United’s Carabao Cup victory over Salford City, as told to Football Insider.

White was one of only four players to have retained a starting role in the United team that was held to a scored draw with Nottingham Forest over the weekend, and Mills feels he is bedding in well with the Elland Road natives following the departure of Pontus Jansson.

The Swede’s £5.5million transfer to Brentford left a key role in the squad void, but Marcelo Bielsa opted against hiring further reinforcements, despite his plans to acquire the Seagulls product already advancing well before the Bees’ pursuit.

Mills’ glowing appraisal of White’s performance at Moor Lane now suggests the boss’ summer plans are paying dividends, as we evidently had no need to go out and splash a large amount on a proven Championship centre-back, as the Seagulls loanee can fill the void left by Jansson.

“Ben White, yet again, was superb,” Mills claimed following our Carabao Cup victory.

“Having to deal with a lot of aerial balls, a lot of long balls as well, Salford played very direct at times, and I thought he was very, very composed, good on the ball.

“I thought he stood up to the challenge of having to defend against those sort of balls very, very well. He looked a real talent. Leeds fans were a little bit worried when Pontus Jansson left, [but] I actually think if he carries on like this, he could be a real upgrade.”

While White has excelled in his games for United thus far, it was his debut in the Championship when we beat Bristol City, having never played higher than League One in his senior career.

Jansson, on the other hand, entered the summer on the back of a campaign where his efforts led to his name being listed in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, and was widely seen as one of the top defenders in the second-tier.

If we are to secure promotion into the Premier League come the end of the term, then White needs to maintain his glowing start to life with United, and ensure his budding on-field partnership with Liam Cooper matures into a formidable force in front of Kiko Casilla’s net.

Share this article