Chelsea are ready to enter the race for Brighton and Hove Albion defender Ben White this summer after the centre-back impressed during his loan spell with Leeds United last season, according to The Daily Star.

White is a top target of Marcelo Bielsa's this summer after playing a huge part in the club's Championship-winning campaign but it does not look like it will be easy to land the youngster permanently.

Brighton are adamant that they do not want to sell White prior to next season but with Chelsea, who qualified for the Champions League, now in the running, things now look a whole lot harder for them again.

Quiz: Can you remember the score from each of these 12 Leeds United matches from the 2019/20 season?

The 22-year-old played in all 46 of the club's Championship matches last term, scoring one goal and assisting two more, as Leeds made their long-awaited return to the top-flight.

Liverpool are also thought to be ready to move for the Englishman this summer as they too look to bolster their defensive options.

With just over a month remaining until the new season kicks off, Leeds fans will be keen to see some incomings at Elland Road soon, with none making their way through the door so far.

The verdict

This is undoubtedly bad news for Leeds United.

Of course they will have a small advantage over Chelsea, in that White has played for them before, knows the club and knows Bielsa well, but I cannot see him picking Leeds over the lure of Champions League football.

What's more, it means Leeds are almost definitely going to be outbid by their top-four rivals, especially with Chelsea's desperate need to bring in a centre-back of their own.