Former Leeds United man Noel Whelan has admitted that he is worried by the prospect of Ben White stepping out of his normal central defensive position against Huddersfield this afternoon.

The classy 22-year-old joined the Whites on loan from Brighton in the summer and has immediately established himself as one of the top players in the Championship with his performances at the heart of the Leeds defence.

However, Kalvin Phillips' suspension has presented Marcelo Bielsa with a problem going into today's Yorkshire derby and the Argentinian confirmed yesterday that White will move into the defensive midfield role.

And, whilst Whelan has no doubts that the ex-Newport man will handle that with ease, he told Football Insider that he's not sure moving him out of the defence is the right thing to do.

"My big issue is that I would much prefer him to keep that relationship with Liam Cooper at the back because you can afford to have a mistake in front of you as long as you’ve got those two solid centre-halves.

"I’m a little bit worried myself, if it pulls off it’s an absolute masterstroke, if it doesn’t, it goes to show how important Kalvin Phillips is."

A victory for Leeds will see them go back to the top of the Championship, with West Brom not in action until tomorrow.

The verdict

You can understand where Whelan is coming from here because White has been outstanding at centre-back this season.

But, the role Phillips plays is so important to the team and it requires a brave, bold player to do that in order to set the tempo.

Many feel that White has the ability to do just that and whilst he is going to be missed at the back, the reality is that it's going to be tough to replace Phillips and this could be the best option the boss has.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.