MEN Sport revealed on Thursday that Ben White is open to the idea of moving to Manchester United this summer.
United have been following the centre-back’s progress at Brighton for some time now, although they aren’t the only Premier League club that are known admirers of him.
After impressing on loan at Leeds in the Championship, the Yorkshire club attempted to make his stay permanent, and White’s agent claimed his client was "disappointed" when the move collapsed.
Unsurprisingly, Brighton do not want to sell White, who has made 31 appearances for Graham Potter’s side this season, demonstrating impressive versatility across multiple positions.
If the player is to get his wish of a move away, White could command a fee in excess of £35m, and while that may seem a hefty price to pay for a player at a lowly club, history proves this stance wrong.
Liverpool, United’s fierce rivals, have shown with their recruitment policy that there are players available in the bottom half of the Premier League that have the potential to play at the highest level.
Although such signings aren’t glamorous and may feel underwhelming to supporters, they can prove incredibly successful - just look at Andy Robertson and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Klopp signed Robertson and Wijnaldum from Hull and Newcastle respectively, and both players have since established themselves as some of the league’s best, each now boasting glittering CVs.
Robertson signed for an initial fee of £8m and while that deal was shrewd business in hindsight from Liverpool, they had to pay £25m to Newcastle for a 25-year-old Wijnaldum.
Considering that was five years ago, and when factoring in that White is English and 23 years old, it's understandable that he might command a higher transfer fee.
He could make an excellent partner for Harry Maguire for years to come.
