Oscar Mario, during a recent video on All Leeds TV, has been discussing the club’s failure to sign Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion on a permanent deal.
White spent the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign on loan in Yorkshire, playing every single minute in the Championship for Marcelo Bielsa’s side but despite Leeds’ efforts, they were unable to bring him to Elland Road on a permanent basis, having three bids turned down by his parent club (as per Sky Sports). Brighton had reportedly set a price tag of £50 million at one point.
With regards to strengthening their central defence, having been unable to agree a deal for the 23-year-old, the Whites signed Robin Koch and Diego Llorente for a combined £29.7m (as per Transfermarkt).
According to the YouTuber, despite many being disappointed at the time, Mario suggested Leeds dodged a bullet in not signing White on a permanent deal, here is what he had to say:
“Ben White can’t get in the England team and you know how bad England’s centre-backs are at the minute.
“We definitely made the right decision to get in Rodrigo, Koch, Llorente for pretty much, maybe a little bit more price-wise than what we would have ended up paying for Ben White. For me, we made completely the right decision.”
Would you prefer to have Ben White over Robin Koch?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Oscar Mario’s comments regarding Ben White…
White’s displays in the Premier League so far this season have earned him an average performance rating of 6.76/10 according to WhoScored, although in our view, it is important to take into consideration that Graham Potter’s side have struggled as a whole since the start of the campaign, winning just one of their eight fixtures so far.
Leeds are currently four points better off than Brighton and so you could certainly make a case to say they made the correct decisions regarding their summer transfer business.