Leeds United will be unlikely to keep Ben White at Elland Road beyond the end of his loan.
Ben White has been a revelation for Leeds United this season, but can they keep him in West Yorkshire for the long term?
In all likelyhood, probably not.
The 22-year-old has been so impressive for promotion-chasing Leeds, in fact, that the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen – and for £20 million [The Daily Mail].
White is only on loan at Elland Road from Brighton & Hove Albion and even if Marcelo Bielsa’s side do win promotion to the Premier League, it seems like the young centre-back might well be too expensive for Leeds to even consider signing on a permanent basis, if the above clubs are genuinely interested.
The good news is that there are other fish in the sea and could Luke Woolfenden be lined up as his replacement?
According to TWTD, United are interested in the Ipswich Town star, who is also being tracked by Sheffield United.
Like White, the 21-year-old is a young centre-back and it seems plausible that Leeds are looking at him on the basis that the Brighton-owned star returns to his parent club.
Even with White, Leeds are going to need more central defenders if they book their top-flight return, but Woolfenden would represent a good start.
Yes, he’s only a League One player, but an extremely promising one and according to Town boss he’s worth closer to £33 million than the reported £3 million [EADT].
Clearly Ipswich won’t get anywhere near that, given he’s untested in the Premier League, but it does illustrate his promise and it’ll be interesting to see if he is indeed Bielsa’s chosen alternative to White.
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