Having made an excellent start to life at Leeds this season, Ben White has been linked with a £20Million move to Liverpool.

Leeds have picked up where they left off last season, currently sitting three points off top spot, with on-loan Brighton centre-back Ben White being one of the star performers. White arrived on a season-long loan from Brighton in July, replacing the departed Pontus Jansson.

Since then, the Whites haven’t regretted the sale, with White being a standout performer in his first 11 games, picking up the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month award for August, with a whopping 44% of the vote.

His performances have not gone unnoticed, with Champions League holders Liverpool being linked with a £20Million swoop for the defender, as per Football Insider. 

With this link fresh in the news, we take a look at three reasons why Ben White can make it at Liverpool…

He has the qualities to fit in there

Despite plying his trade in the Championship, there is a lot to like about Ben White’s game at the moment. He combines robust defending with a confident and accomplished work on the ball to make a great blend required to be a successful modern centre-back.

There is a very distinct style to get on-board with under Bielsa at Leeds, and that goes for Klopp’s Liverpool too. Both operate with four at the back, and a very energetic attack, pressing from the front and forcing mistakes all over the pitch. Ben White has already shown his willingness to make strong tackles to win Leeds the ball back, to then start an attack with purposeful forward passing.

While he may not possess the same ability levels as Virgil Van Dijk, there are similarities in how they approach playing at centre-back, with their confidence on the ball, to how they dominate opposition both in the air and on the floor.

Liverpool are particularly light in his position

In Van Dijk, Liverpool arguably have the best centre-back in the world. Below him in the pecking order are Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, both of whom are struggling to make a convincing claim this season that they should be the preferred choice.

With only three first-team centre-backs, and injury problems plaguing Joe Gomez, there appears to be a gap needing to be filled. Ben White could easily fill this void, being a very consistent performer who appears to rarely have been injured throughout his career.

Despite being top of the table by eight points, defensive issues have troubled Liverpool this season. The Reds have only kept three clean sheets in all competitions and have struggled to get going in the Champions League so far, conceding five in two games.

He is an investment for the future

White turned 22 on the 6th October, showing how he still has much to learn in the game, with this current Leeds campaign being his first regular football since his stint at League Two Newport County. Valued at a reported £20Million, White represents much less of a gamble than other defenders his age, who would command a much higher fee, and in modern football that fee would be seen as modest for a player that has potential to go right to the top.

Since White’s arrival, Bielsa has been nothing but effusive over his impact so far. After the Millwall defeat, the Argentine had this to say about the defender, via Leeds Live: "He’s a great player. He takes risks and he doesn’t make mistakes. That’s the most difficult thing in football. It’s easy when you take risks. It’s normal to make mistakes when you take risks. The best players risk and don’t make mistakes. Everything seems White is in this band.”

Being such a young player in his first season at Championship level, White has a way to go in his career. However, he is already proving to be one of the leading centre-backs in the league, and will only continue to improve, whether that be at Leeds, Brighton, Liverpool or elsewhere.