Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Tuesday, August 11.
Premier League champions touted to beat Leeds to centre-back signing
Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Ben White would start for Premier League champions Liverpool, with a transfer tug-of-war for the defender developing.
White impressed on loan at Leeds last season, leading to hope at Elland Road that he might stay at the club for their return to the Premier League. Liverpool are among the clubs reportedly interested in White, though, and Robinson believes he’s good enough for the elite level.
“I think he would start straight away alongside Van Dijk. They would be a formidable partnership,” he told the Daily Star.
“You see the way that Van Dijk has played with De Ligt for the Dutch national team. He always develops the players around him. White would be a shoo-in with Van Dijk to start.
“You hope that he has a bigger affinity with Leeds but if he went to a club like Liverpool he would get in and you would not get him out again.”
Roma will find it ‘difficult’ to lure Leeds chief
Serie A club Roma will find it “difficult” to lure Victor Orta from Leeds as they target the Whites’ sporting director for a role at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claim Roma see Orta as the ideal candidate to be in charge of their transfer activity having watched him lead Leeds back to the Premier League last season.
However, Orta’s close friendship with Monchi will work against Roma, with Monchi’s experience of working at the Stadio Olimpico in between spells with Sevilla far from a positive one.
Roma want a sporting director who mainly looks after the club’s transfer activity, with the Serie A side unlikely to grant the figure the sort of wide-ranging powers Orta has at Leeds.
White must ‘prove’ he is a Premier League player
Brighton coach David Weir says White must “prove” he is good enough for the Premier League amid intense speculation around the young defender’s future.
White was a key part of Leeds’ Championship-winning side with a number of top level clubs now reportedly interested in the 22-year-old, who remains on Brighton’s books. Weir believes White still has some work to do in establishing himself in the Premier League, though.
“Ben played every minute, which is really impressive. Like Christian Walton he has come through and played at different levels and matched the level expected of him,” the former Scotland international told Brighton’s official site.
“He has stood out in the Championship - he has continued to improve at a gradual rate. Now he has to come back to us and prove that he is a Premier League player. He has shown that he is good enough to be promoted out of the Championship and be consistent.”
