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With Leeds United currently topping the Championship table having conceded the fewest goals in the division, it comes as little surprise that the league’s most well-rounded defender is an Elland Road name.

Ben White has been excellent at centre-back for Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the 2019/20 campaign; cool and composed in possession but also rugged and dogged when required.

Such is his versatility, that in Leeds’ most recent games White has been deployed in a holding midfield role in the absence of the injured Kalvin Phillips, a role he seems more than capable of executing.

He suits the way in which Bielsa wants his sides to play, embodying a brand of silky, fast-paced, progressive football from front to back.

While he may be suited to Leeds’ style and owned by Graham Potter’s Brighton, Premier League suitors will be momentarily rapping on the door at the Amex Stadium.

His reading of the game is first class and one of his most notable attributes, but he is also remarkably comfortable on the ball.

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Leeds’ brand of football demands a great deal in build-up from the centre-backs and White is up to the task, threading balls into midfield or spraying diagonals for the likes of Jack Harrison to latch onto on the left flank.

It is for this reason he would be well-suited to a number of Premier League’s sides, many of whom are currently understaffed at centre-back, including Everton.

Michael Keane, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate are Carlo Ancelotti’s current options but the Blues could do with adding a fourth option in the heart of defence to really give them ample and talented cover.

White can be accurately labelled as a high-level distributor and it would not be an exaggeration to suggest he is already capable of making the step up to an established Premier League club.

The Englishman could therefore add something into Ancelotti’s back-line, while fulfilling the brief of deep ball-progressor.

As a defender, he is not the most physically imposing, yet rarely succumbs to being bullied by some of the Championship’s more hardened centre-forwards.

He has good speed over the ground and is even quicker in the application of his defensive work – no player has made more interceptions in the Championship this season than White.

Another interesting facet to White’s game is the number of shots he blocks. He averages 0.6 shots blocked per 90 this season, which for a side who regularly dominate the ball is quietly impressive and is a better number than any current Everton defender.

Given that only Manchester City and Liverpool have blocked fewer shots in the Premier League this season than Everton, White’s willingness to put his body on the line could be an asset to the Toffees’ defensive makeup.

This can be tied into the 22-year-old’s work ethic, which has seen him rise from League Two Newport County to the brink of the Premier League with Leeds United in the space of two seasons.

White is very much a no-fuss, no-frills defender, carrying out his job dutifully, rarely appearing flustered or out of control and crucially contributing to build-up.