Rumour Mongering: Liverpool and Man United Battle for Brighton Defender

Liverpool are always on the lookout for promising young domestic talent, and today in the land of transfer rumours we’ve got another name to add to the list with Brighton and Hove Albion defender Ben White said to be on Jürgen Klopp’s shortlist.

However, the Reds aren’t the only ones said to be strongly considering a move for him, with historical rivals Manchester United also said to be a potential destination for the 22-year-old Poole native who’s currently spending the season on loan at Leeds.

At least that’s the story being spun today by The Athletic, who suggest Liverpool and United have both been tracking White’s performance under Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa sine he joined Leeds—and that they’ve come away highly impressed.

White, who started out in the Southampton academy, has made 13 appearances this season for Leeds, who are level on points with Preston in second as the fiery Argentinian manager again has them in contention for promotion back to the Premier League.

However, while White has looked promising for them and even if Liverpool have shown a propensity for targeting young English talent, his age would make him a bit of an awkward target for the club next summer even if Dejan Lovren departs.

The expectation next season will be for Virgil van Dijk, Joël Matip, and Joe Gomez to be the club’s top three on the depth chart, which would leave White as fourth choice at an age where he will need to play regularly if he’s to continue his development.

As such, it’s more likely the Reds would target either a more veteran player—a Kolo Toure or Ragnar Klavan type—for the role, and as such, for now at least we’re inclined to think there likely isn’t any genuine Liverpool interest in the centre half.