According to Sky Sports, The Athletic’s David Ornstein and multiple other English media outlets, Arsenal have had a £40 million bid for Ben White rejected by Brighton and Hove Albion today.
Arsenal have been on the market for a new central defender to replace David Luiz. The Brazilian was released after just two years at the club, and the Gunners are desperate to sign a replacement in the coming days.
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Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for White, who was a real star in the Premier League last season. It was reported earlier this week that he could cost a fee between £40 million and £50 million this summer, and it looks like the former won’t be enough.
The report claims that Arsenal tabled a £40 million offer to sign White earlier today. Brighton reportedly rejected the bid immediately, but that hasn’t deterred Edu one bit.
It claimed that talks will continue between the two clubs. If we don’t face any competition from other top sides, we should be confident about securing a deal for the Englishman, who has been labelled as ‘brilliant‘ by Leeds United star Liam Cooper.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming days. Arsenal’s interest certainly looks genuine, but it really won’t be easy to get this deal over the line.
Ben White could become Arsenal’s most expensive defender ever
Arsenal have always been criticised for not spending big money on top-quality defenders. The last time we forked out a fortune on a centre-half was when we signed Shkodran Mustafi for more than £35 million. (BBC)
We’ve not spent anything close to that on a player who plays at the back yet, but if White joins Arsenal this summer, it will surely be for a club-record fee for a defender.
At just 23 years of age, White is a solid investment. He is a brilliant defender and the fact that he can fill in at right-back and in defensive midfield is a huge bonus. It is no surprise that Arteta likes him and if things go our way, he’ll soon have him at his disposal.
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