Football journalist Duncan Castles has been sharing some insight into Arsenal’s reported transfer interest in Brighton & Hove Albion defender Ben White.
This comes after Castles co-hosted a recent episode of The Transfer Window Podcast, where he spoke about a range of different transfer-related talking points in football at the moment.
On the subject of Arsenal’s interest in signing White, Castles had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I mean, we’ve told you to expect a lot of competition for Ben White and we told you some time ago that Brighton would be looking for a fee of over £50 million for the player. Arsenal made the first offer, that offer was rejected by Brighton.
“My understanding is that this week, they have improved their offer, increased the initial down payment and made the schedule of payments over the course of the contract more attractive to Brighton, but as yet, there is not an agreement between the two clubs on the transfer fee.”
White made his senior debut with Brighton back in August 2016 under former Seagulls boss Chris Hughton in a Carabao Cup victory over Colchester United.
Since then, the 23-year-old, who is currently valued at £25.2 million according to Transfermarkt, has made 41 appearances for Brighton across all competitions.
TIF Thoughts on Duncan Castles’ comments on Arsenal’s interest in signing White…
Given that Arsenal’s interest in White goes back a few weeks, it may be a big blow if they were unable to secure his signature in what is a crucial transfer window for the Gunners ahead of a season without European football.
The lack of finances that comes with their failure to qualify for continental competition suggests they must spend wisely this off-season, while any setback in talks could see them lose out on securing alternative targets in time for August’s kick-off – so Castles’ claim sounds like a potentially heavy dent to their plans.
Taking into account the fact that White’s current contract at Brighton isn’t set to expire until 2024 and that he played in all but two of Brighton’s 38 Premier League games throughout the 2020/21 season says just how important he is to the club and why they would only accept a substantial fee for him as Castles mentioned in the podcast.
Do you think Arsenal should pay over £50m for Ben White this summer?
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In our view, with Arsenal having said goodbye to David Luiz, perhaps the club potentially sees White as a replacement for the Brazilian and someone who can be a long-term prospect for the Gunners.
However, with recent reports suggesting that Chelsea have now entered the race for White, Arsenal may need to ensure they reach an agreement with Brighton quickly if they want to secure the defender.
In other news: ‘As far as I’m aware’ – Charles Watts reveals ‘big’ Arsenal transfer update