This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Leeds United have every reason to be worried after reports emerged stating that one of their most important players could be on his way out of the club in January.
The Whites are currently third in the Championship, but their fortunes could change if this reported move comes to fruition.
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What’s the story then?
Football Insider are reporting that Brighton may be planning on recalling Ben White in January.
The report suggests that the Seagulls have a clause in the loan deal that would allow them to bring him back once the transfer window reopens.
They also claim that the Whites remain confident they can hold onto him and that may be down to the one saving grace they have over any potential decision Brighton do decide to make.
Leeds’ saving grace
Indeed, Leeds may be able to keep hold of White until the end of the season due to the abundance of centre-backs that Brighton have at their disposal.
Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy are now both experienced Premier League head, while Adam Webster and Dan Burn have both taken to their new surroundings like a duck to water.
Burn has already won a Man of the Match award and averaged a 6.98 rating on WhoScored, while Webster is proving to be a brilliant ball-player with a pass success rate above 86 per cent and 0.6 key passes per game.
Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…
Bearing that in mind, White simply wouldn’t be guaranteed first-team minutes at the Amex if he returned to the south coast, and the Seagulls may judge that the best thing for his development would be for him to stay in Yorkshire for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal decided that Leeds is the best place for Eddie Nketiah to prepare for life in the Premier League, and there’s no reason why Brighton can’t make the same assessment when deciding on what they want for the centre-back.
He’s been named as the Player of the Season so far by a number of United supporters, and he’s clearly developing well under Marcelo Bielsa.
Taking all of this into account alongside the number of centre-backs that Brighton already have at their disposal it’s fair to say that Leeds may be safe from losing their key man this January.
