Glenn Murray told talkSPORT that Ben White is the ‘real deal’ as he praised Brighton for ‘turning down’ big money from Leeds for his services last summer.
After helping Leeds return to England’s elite for the first time in nearly two decades last summer, understandably, the Whites were keen to sign him up on a permanent basis.
But those in the Amex Stadium boardroom were having none of it and they turned down several bids from Leeds to lure his talents back to Yorkshire.
Since then, more clubs have seemingly expressed interest in the £50 million ball-playing centre-half, including Liverpool.
And Murray, who played alongside White at Brighton, backed his ex-teammate to become an England international and shared what he’s like in training.
“Yes, he has (the quality to become an England player and a Champions League player),” said Murray. “He’s a very new school centre-half.
“I remember when he was called over into the first team. It must have been 2017/18, something like that.
“And this kid keeps nipping in front of me. Constantly. I am like ‘is he getting the better of me? Or am I slowing down or what?’
“But even from the first day this kid stepped in, I said ‘this kid has got a bit’. What he has gone to do has proved that he is the real deal and I do think he can go onto bigger and better things.
“I think credit has to be given to Brighton and the chairman down there for turning down what was a huge sum of money from Leeds in the summer. For someone who was, at the time, unproven in the Premier League.”
All that hype surrounding White in the summer has been proven to be correct by his performances this season.
Brighton are in a relegation battle and have struggled to push down hard on the accelerator, but that doesn’t hide the fact that White has been a promising and exceptional performer at the back.
There’s a reason why the likes of Liverpool are now sniffing around for his services and if, and it’s a big if, Brighton go down, well, could Leeds come back in for his services? That would be something and some story if that were to happen.
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