Ben White completes record breaking £50m move to Arsenal
Things you never thought you would write: Brighton & Hove Albion have sold a player for £50 million. That is the scarcely believable introduction to an article on WAB as Ben White completes his move to Arsenal.
The England international has passed a medical with the Gunners and put pen to paper on a five year contract, bringing to a close a transfer that feels like it has been going on for longer than the One Hundred Year War. And that actually lasted 116 years, four months, three weeks and four days.
Not only does the £50 million smash the Albion’s previous club record incoming transfer of the £15 million Fulham paid for Anthony Knockaert last summer, but it is more than Brighton have made when you total up every player sale throughout their entire 120 year history.
Brighton are also said to have negotiated a decent sell on clause in addition to the £50 million initial fee. That is shrewd business on the part of Tony Bloom as if Ben White continues his current rate of progress, a bigger club than Arsenal will be willing to pay an even larger fee for his services to the Gunners in the not-too-distant future.
Brighton picked up White as a 16-year-old following his release by Southampton. A carefully planned development pathway saw him gain experience through each level of the Football League, beginning with a season long loan at Newport County in 2017-18.
White spent part of 2018-19 in League One with Peterborough United and joined 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United for 2019-20.
It was during his year at Elland Road that he really came to prominence, helping the world’s biggest club return to the top flight of English football following an absence of 16 years.
This loan odyssey White had been on around the lower leagues was geared towards one purpose – preparing him for a crack at the Premier League with Brighton.
Needless to say, White took to the highest level like a duck to water and by the end of the 2020-21 campaign, he became only the fifth Albion player ever to represent England.
When Gareth Southgate named White in his squad for Euro 2020 (in 2021), White joined 1982 World Cup representative Steve Foster in an elite group of two as Albion players to have gone to an international tournament with the Three Lions.
Football ‘experts’ on Twitter have balked at and mocked Arsenal for the £50 million they have paid for Ben White. Those who do so clearly have no idea of what a player he is and even less of a clue of how good he could become.
Arsenal are not just getting a centre back for their large outlay. They are getting a bloke equally capable of playing at right back, right wing back and in central midfield.
So versatile is White that Southgate had no qualms in handing him his England debut in the middle of the park during the 1-0 friendly win over Austria at the Riverside Stadium.
In 20 minutes on the pitch, White went close to scoring at one end with a drive from 25 yards. At the other end, he cleared an Austrian effort off the line in the final seconds once he had reverted to defence following injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold, preserving Jordan Pickford’s clean sheet and England’s win.
White’s skillset too is unlike many other defenders. He defends brilliantly, reads the game like a veteran, is comfortable picking out passes, can step into midfield with the ball at his feet and is often found foraging forward to join attacks. There is a reason White is referred to as a Rolls-Royce.
Arsenal are getting themselves one hell of a player who is only going to get better. The sky is the limit, presuming he does not become too impacted by the circus that often goes on at the Emirates Stadium.
The only regret about White’s departure? That a full Amex Stadium never got to see him performing in a Brighton shirt in the Premier League. The most valuable player the Albion has ever had and a total of only 12,000 supporters saw him in the top flight throughout his Seagulls career.
We now have to settle with watching him from afar. Go and prove all those doubters wrong and make us proud, Ben White.
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