Marcelo Bielsa has alluded to playing on-loan Leeds United centre-back Ben White in the role designated to Kalvin Phillips, following the latter’s one-match ban.

Kalvin Phillips has been crucial to Bielsa’s system ever since the Argentine arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2018, bringing great balance to Leeds’ side in the heart of midfield.

Phillips had been transformed from a box-to-box midfielder into a holding midfielder showing prowess at both aspects of the game. In his defensive play, he wins possession with robust tackling and reading of the game, and in possession, he demonstrates great decision making and a range of passing unrivalled by most in the division.

Leeds encountered a problem against Middlesbrough at the weekend when the academy graduate picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he is suspended for the Huddersfield Town game at the weekend.

Marcelo Bielsa gave an indication of how he plans to cover this gap when he replaced Phillips with 10 minutes to play for Gaetano Berardi, allowing Ben White to push from centre-back into Phillips’ slot.

Here, we take a look at two pros and two cons to Bielsa deploying Ben White in holding midfield…

Pro: He can pass a ball

Ben White has shown this season from centre-back that he is more than capable with the ball at his feet for the Whites. Leeds’ system is set up in a way that means every player must be comfortable in possession and constantly in a position to either receive the ball or create space for someone else to receive it, which White has done marvellously.

Playing in defence has allowed White to be able to read the game and see everything in front of him, to pick the best passes. So far this season, he has averaged a passing accuracy of 85.5% (via WhoScored.com).

As he moves up the pitch, he will have to prove that he can play more risky passes to unlock Huddersfield’s defence but he is sure to do so, having done it from deeper time and again for Bielsa this term.

Con: It weakens the centre-back slot

With the defender moving into holding midfield, it leaves a huge Ben White-shaped hole in the centre of defence.

It would appear that Gaetano Berardi will come in to play at centre-back alongside club captain Liam Cooper, who hasn’t quite convinced many that he is the centre-back replacement Bielsa should have to turn to.

While he has shown glimpses of quality in short stints, there is always the fear that his liability will become a factor, with either a rash decision or mistake always lingering in the back of everyone’s minds.

There is no doubting Leeds’ defensive unit is a better one with Ben White in it, so moving him into the midfield makes Leeds’ defence weaker.

Pro: He adds height to the role

On top of his obvious defensive prowess that he shares with Phillips, White has one distinct advantage on the natural midfielder, which is the height difference.

Standing at 6ft 1in, White is not exactly towering but typically taller than a lot of players he will be facing and definitely more so than his markers at Huddersfield Town.

The one criticism that can be had of Phillips in the holding midfield slot is his lack of aerial dominance, and while White isn’t a behemoth in the air, he yields more success in that area of play, which could benefit Leeds massively. Huddersfield tend to play quite direct from defence and duels in the air could help to swing the balance of play in their favour if Leeds don’t get a grip of that.

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Con: It’s not his position

White has shown immense potential at centre-back this season and is rightly attracting interest from some of the top sides in the country, including European champions Liverpool.

However, he has proven how good he is in that position alone, so there is no guarantee that this translates directly to him hitting the ground running as a defensive midfielder. While it has to be said that he has the qualities necessary to excel in the role, there are very small subtleties to every position that he needs experience to master, such as positioning in different scenarios or decision-making.

Phillips has proven that when fit, he is the only person in the side who should play in that role and for good reason. It is yet to be seen whether White can operate in that role successfully but it is always a gamble playing a player out of position, especially in such an important role in the side.