This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more... 

Kalvin Phillips will be absent from the Leeds United squad for the remainder of the Championship season, with Marcelo Bielsa losing the midfielder to a knee injury.  

Leeds boss Bielsa has confirmed that Ben White will step up into the midfield to take on Barnsley this week, which is a position he has played in before.

The likely reshuffle will see Gaetano Berardi move into defence to cover White, but is this the right path for Leeds to take?

Our writers discuss…

George Dagless

I think so.

White can play there and has done before, so I don't think it's that radical a move and it's also the one that makes the most sense.

He has plenty of qualities that lend themselves to playing in that holding midfield role and I'm sure Leeds will be just fine against Barnsley tomorrow evening with this shake-up in the middle of the park.

Gaetano Berardi is likely to be the one to step into defence and that's not a massive issue either, he obviously knows the role and will just need to get up to speed quickly but I think they'll be fine.

George Harbey

I suppose it's the most logical solution to be honest.

To be without Phillips is a blow and an inconvenience for sure, but Leeds haven't been disastrous when he's been missing this season, and White is more than capable of slotting into defensive midfield.

The most natural solution would be to put Adam Forshaw in there, but he's had his problems with injury since Bielsa came in, so that now makes White first choice.

I actually think White suits that role really well indeed. He's shown how comfortable he is on the ball when playing at centre-half this season, and he's also quite dynamic which means he could be the perfect lynchpin for Leeds.

Gaetano Berardi is more than adequate cover for White at centre-back, too, so I think Leeds will cope just fine.

Quiz: Do you know what shirt number each of these 14 Leeds United players wear?

 

Alfie Burns  

We’ve seen White struggle here before but you can’t deny that his last few performances covering for Phillips were very good, so I think it’s the right decision.

When we first saw White play in the holding midfield role against Huddersfield Town back in December, Leeds were a little overrun and missed Phillips, but when you point to the reverse fixture against the Terriers, he had grown in that position.

Of course, you aren’t going to get Phillips’ quality from White, but this is a very talented boy we are talking about; he’s got the passing range and can read the game, so there should be no issue with him stepping in against Barnsley.

He will need help from the likes of Mateusz Klich, of course, whilst his two centre-backs will have to make sure they are talking to him throughout the game.

Ultimately, I see White relishing this challenge and stepping up in the final three games.