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At the time of Ben White’s signing from Brighton, it was assumed the young defender had arrived at Leeds with an understudy role in store. His natural progression had taken him from League Two to League One, and now to the Championship — the top end of the Championship, to be precise— leaving an immediate starting role somewhat lofty, if not entirely unrealistic.

In typical Leeds United fashion, turmoil is never far away though. Before Ben White could even cross paths with his presumed counsel Pontus Jansson, the Swede had left the club entirely, shipped to Brentford in a hastily-packaged deal. After weeks of hurried debate on how, when and why Leeds might do such a thing, the approaching season forces us to the present, where Marcelo Bielsa must try to go one further without a core member of last season’s squad.

Maybe Leeds have shot themselves in the foot, damaging the platform they had built in 2018–19 beyond realistic repair. Maybe they’ll be fine, and Marcelo Bielsa’s lifetime of football study will prove to us again that the collective reigns supreme. Maybe Ben White is… good?

Style of play

It doesn’t take long to identify White’s main characteristics, and thus his appeal to Marcelo Bielsa. The 21-year-old is a clear product of the new age of centre backs, where those who can combine defensive duties with technical ability in possession experience rises quicker than those who can’t. White arrives at Leeds on his third progressive loan spell in as many seasons, climbing from League Two to League One and now the Championship.

Looking at centre backs who played 1000+ minutes in League One last season, the logic of Leeds’ interest is laid bare. White stands out as one of the more diverse players in terms of his style in possession, as well as being the youngest of the group that ranked above average in both pass completion rate and dribbles per 90.

These are two essential attributes in relation to Bielsa’s build-up wishes, however it also requires the analysis of game footage to be sure of White’s proficiency in both areas.

We can see from the data that he has a high accuracy with his passing — as well as an above-average dribbling tendency — but it’s the combination with video that determines his capability in both areas, beyond the general style of play. The good news is that White’s data profile as a ball-playing centre back translates well, and is perhaps even undersold from the standard data.

Digging deeper into his passing ability, which is represented well by his completion rate, we can see how White fuses his passing and dribbling to enhance both parts. As a confident dribbler, he’s able to create better angles for distribution by carrying the ball and removing opposition players from the game. Likewise, as an effective passer, teams will often try to aggressively stop his distribution which leaves them prone to being dribbled past; something White is ever willing to do.

In terms of build-up play, White is well-versed over both long and short distances. His game footage shows a clear comfort in handling the ball under close attention, as well as an understanding of playing angles to be able to evade the opposition and move through the pressure. Whether innately or through his coaching at Brighton, White has clearly developed with a major focus on managing the ball effectively from the centre back role.

As evidenced in Opta’s season review of the Championship, Bielsa’s plans for Leeds revolved around progressing the ball quickly and not allowing their high rates of possession to become stagnant. Despite being the most ball-dominant team in the league last year, Leeds were also among the top three teams for direct speed: a measure of how quickly a team progresses the ball upfield.

This is often a responsibility of the centre backs, who are the first port of call when playing from the back and must be able to supplement the team with forward passing. And through his short time with Leeds in pre-season, on top of his previous loan spells in the Football League, the signs are promising in regards to White filling this need.

All of the above is what will have primarily led to Ben White finding his name on Leeds’ transfer board. When you couple that with a summer working under Marcelo Bielsa, the desired effect will be that the 21-year-old can apply his progressive playing style into a team where the quality of possession will be significant in the team’s fortunes.

Leeds averaged a 64% share of the ball last season; a notably high figure in recent Championship history. Within that, the starting centre-back pair of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson both averaged over 60 passes per 90, meaning the degree of importance on those actions forms a large part of the their overall performance. It will be no different for Ben White, who Leeds will likely be hoping will excel in this particular department.

Questions

If White is a potential upgrade on Jansson in terms of ball usage, it will take some convincing for him to rival the Swede in defensive duties. Even merely for the fact that six years separate them in age, experience will generally give you more guarantees as a defender heading into a 46-game Championship.

The examination for White, which will take at least a few months to become apparent (assuming he becomes a starter), will be to see how he adapts to the defensive duties that playing in a Bielsa team brings. This means playing in a high line, where the team adopts an almost attacking approach to defending. Rather than guarding territory or covering space in behind, centre backs under Bielsa are more likely to be on the front foot making tackles and interceptions after quick turnovers of the ball.

Where the work in possession will come more naturally to White, his duties in a pure defensive sense will be a case of continued learning even when the season is underway. It’s also perhaps inevitable that Leeds will continue to suffer against direct football on occasions this season, given the downgrade in physical presence from Jansson to White.

The hope will be that the team can make ground in other departments, perhaps in their greater control of opposition counter-attacks by playing the 3–3–1–3 and in turn making use of White’s ball-playing ability in the centre of that back three. One positive indicator for the 21-year-old is that he’s a good athlete and possesses notable recovery pace for a centre-back; something which will certainly be needed as a relief option in Leeds’ high defensive line.

In summary, the signing of White is somewhat of an apt metaphor for the whole idea of Marcelo Bielsa in Leeds. The youngster boasts few of the general tick marks for that of a traditional Championship defender at this stage of his career — aerial dominance, experience and physical strength, to name a few — but he does appeal to the way in which Bielsa envisions his team. Daring, playing on the front foot and spending as much time gunning for the opposition half as possible. It’s not the typical course of action for a Championship team, but that’s what made Leeds the team they were last season.

Bielsa will believe he’s got the most difficult part to find in his ideal centre-back: the quality in possession. The other parts will be up to coach and player alike, and will form the risk and reward of a signing that could have unexpectedly big implications in the Argentine’s second act.

(Data via Opta/Wyscout)