All White on the night: Brighton Ben in England Euro provisional squad
Brighton & Hove Albion may have a player representing England at Euro 2020 (in 2021) with Ben White being called into the Three Lion’s provisional squad for this summer’s tournament.
White had been tipped to be a surprise inclusion at the weekend by The Sun. Most Seagulls supporters dismissed it as nonsense due to Gareth Southgate being seemingly unaware of the existence of Brighton through his continued ignorance of Lewis Dunk.
Southgate though has shocked everyone by handing White his opportunity after an excellent debut season in the Premier League. The call up is the culmination of a carefully planned career pathway put in place by the Albion for their centre back.
White had spent the previous three seasons out on-loan, working his way through the Football League to pick up experience with smaller clubs in three different divisions.
He spent the 2017-18 campaign with Newport County In League Two and followed that up with a spell with League One side Peterborough United in 2018-19.
It was in the 2019-20 season that White began making waves with 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United. White helped the Peacocks win the Championship title, bringing top flight football to Elland Road for the first time in 16 years.
The Leeds United were desperate to keep White last summer but Brighton had no desire to sell and the defender instead signed a new four year contract to stay at the Amex.
He has gone onto become one of the first names on Graham Potter’s team sheet this season, making 39 appearances in all competitions.
White appears to have everything you need to play at the very top level. Not only is he a ridiculous good defender who reads the game beautifully, but he also provides a real attacking outlet.
Brighton fans have been accustomed to seeing him step into midfield with the ball with the intention of starting attacks. White often pops up in the final third, most notably in the Albion’s 3-2 win over champions Manchester City when he hit two stonking volleys from just outside the box which required flying blocks from City defenders to prevent them troubling Ederson.
Southgate will have been attracted by White’s versatility too. As well as playing as the right sided centre back in Potter’s back three, he has featured as a central defender in a back four, at right back, as a right wing back and in central midfield.
White’s best performance of the season arguably came in the middle of the park. He marked his return to The Leeds United with a superb 90 minutes stepping in for Yves Bissouma who was only named on the bench following his return from suspension.
With doubts surrounding the fitness of Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips who both ended the Premier League season injured, White’s ability to provide cover as a holding midfielder will be vital if injuries and suspensions bite throughout the tournament for England.
The scary thing about White is that at 23-years-old, he is only going to get better. He has all the tools to become a mainstay of one of the promising England sides there has ever been and who should be ending the nation’s 55 year wait for international honours, either this summer or at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Whilst some Albion fans will feel disappointed that White looks set to have the international future that should have been afforded to Dunk, Euro 2020 (in 2021) suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting for the Seagulls.
Steve Foster is the only previous Brighton player to have gone to major tournament with England, playing in the 1982 World Cup. The Three Lions exited the competition at the second group stage in Spain.
White and England will expect to go much further this summer. With Robert Sanchez part of a talented Spain squad, there is every chance that a current Albion player could win an international tournament for the first time in the club’s history.
If you had suggested that 23 years ago ahead of the 1998 World Cup in France when Brighton had just finished 91st out of 92 teams in the Football League and were playing home games in front of 2,000 people at Gillingham, then you would have been placed in a padded cell.
Ben White playing for England at Euro 2020 (in 2021) is yet another reminder of how far Brighton have come. Roll on the summer.
