Arsenal sign Brighton defender in £50m deal

LONDON: Arsenal have signed England defender Ben White from Premier League rivals Brighton, the London club announced on Friday.

The 23-year-old, a member of England’s Euro 2020 squad, has now completed a medical.

Although no fee, nor the exact length of a “long-term” deal has been disclosed, British media reports suggest White has moved to the capital for a fee of £50 million ($70 million).

“Ben was a top target for us and it’s great that we’ve completed his signing,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the club’s website.

“Ben has been educated with two very good clubs, Brighton and Leeds, in recent seasons. He has benefited well from two very good coaching set-ups and has shown with both Brighton and on loan with Leeds what a strong talent he is.”

White played 36 games for Brighton last season.

“We are incredibly proud of him and what he has achieved and much credit must go to our academy, who have played such an important role in developing Ben from a younger age,” said Brighton manager Graham Poter.

White will immediately join up with his new team-mates ahead of the Mind Series friendly match at home to Chelsea on Sunday.

He is the club’s third first-team summer signing, ater let-back Nuno Tavares joined from Benfica for around £8m and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga arrived from Anderlecht.

The centre-back made 39 appearances for Brighton in all competitions last season as the Seagulls finished 16th in the Premier League under Graham Poter.

Prior to his debut season in the Premier League last year, White impressed on loan during Leeds’ Championship title-winning side in 2019-20 which led Brighton to secure him on a new four-year contract.

The transfer completes a meteoric rise for the defender, who was released by Southampton as a teenager before being signed by Brighton in 2016.

He spent time out on loan at Newport and Peterborough before joining Leeds on loan for their Championship-winning season in 2019-20.

White’s performances at Elland Road atracted interest from a number of clubs, including Leeds themselves, but the defender instead signed a new four-year contract with the Seagulls last September.

Arsenal’s pursuit of White has caused puzzlement among some supporters. For a side with the third-best defensive record in the Premier League last season, wouldn’t £50m be beter spent elsewhere?