Leeds link may hold the key to salvaging Ben White’s England career – Our View

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Ben White’s international future is up in the air.

The Arsenal defender left the World Cup camp early, and it seems as though he had something of a tough time in Qatar.

Indeed, The Daily Star report that he had a bust-up with Steve Holland, and while those reports are unconfirmed, ESPN have heard a similar tale from their sources.

The American outlet state that White was described as ‘aloof’ by some of his teammates, while they also describe an incident during a team meeting that has been described as ‘complicated’.

All in all, it sounds like White isn’t really integrating into this group, and that will need to change if he wants to continue being picked by Gareth Southgate – after all, this is a manager who places a lot of importance o the social aspect of his squad selections.

Luckily, White does have a saving grace in that regard – Kalvin Phillips.

By all accounts, Phillips is one of the most popular players in the England camp, and he’s also one of White’s very best friends.

Phillips and White, of course, met during their time together at Leeds United, and since then they’ve been almost inseperable.

They’re pictured holidaying together almost every summer, they constantly interact on social media, and there are plenty of funny stories about the pair’s antics at Leeds – including one where Phillips jokingly stole White’s car.

The reality is that it’s hard to integrate into a new environment sometimes and we can all be guilty of being a bit aloof in these situations – be it the first day at school, your first shift at a new job or meeting a group of mutual friends for the first time.

However, those interactions always become so much easier when you have someone who you can use as a link to your new surroundings – perhaps an old co-worker or someone you went to primary school with in our above examples, and that’s exactly what Phillips can be for White in this England squad.

The Arsenal defender needs to find a way to integrate into this group, and perhaps the key to all that is for Phillips to take him under his wing a bit and help him come out of his shell a bit more.