Leeds United owe Brighton and Hove Albion for promotion spark: View | OneFootball

The 2019/20 season is one that Leeds United will look back on with great fondness.

The West Yorkshire side finished the previous campaign in the play-off places but were beaten over two legs by Derby County.

So, Leeds came into the following campaign looking to go one better, and manager Marcelo Bielsa was keen to ensure he got the club to the Premier League.

That season, the Whites made a few additions to improve the squad, but it was mainly done with loan signings. One addition that may have gone under the radar at the time - but one that was very key in them sealing promotion - was the signing of Ben White from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Brighton sent Ben White on loan to Leeds for the 2019/20 season

Ben White started his career at Southampton’s academy, but he soon made the move to Brighton in 2014.

The defender worked his way through the Seagulls’ academy setup before spending the 2017/18 season on loan at Newport County.

He returned to Brighton but soon found himself back out on loan, this time at Peterborough United, but that lasted just six months.

Brighton decided in the summer of 2019 to send White out on loan once again, but this time, the defender earned quite an impressive loan as he joinedLeeds United.

White was quite unknown at the time, so it would have taken Leeds fans aback at how important he became during their Championship title-winning season.

Leeds United owe Brighton for allowing them to sign Ben White on loan in 2019

As mentioned, Ben White had a couple of loan spells away from Brighton before he joined Leeds United.

His time with Newport was rather successful, as he played in the majority of their games and contributed goals and assists.

However, his time at Peterborough probably wasn’t as successful, as he played 15 times in League One in those six months there, but he didn’t seem to have the same effect on the team.

So, when it became clear that Leeds were going to sign White on a season-long loan, some of the supporters may have been unsure of what to expect.

However, the defender soon showed what he could bring to the table, and it wasn’t too long before he was a big hit with the fanbase.

That season, White played in all 46 Championship games, starting every single one, showing how important he was to the promotion push.

The defender got on the scoresheet once during his time with Leeds and could have had more, given he missed three big chances. As well as the goal, White also picked up two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as per Sofascore.com.

But more importantly, White was so key in what Leeds did in defence, as he made 2.5 interceptions per game as well as 1.6 tackles and an impressive 2.7 clearances, all of which helped him contribute to 22 clean sheets that season.

Sofascore statistical rating of 7.06.

The defender was a key component in Leeds’ defence, and in the end, he proved to be part of a defence that was able to see the club over the line and back into the Premier League.

White didn’t do it single-handedly, but he played a very big part, and the club should be ever grateful for Brighton sending the player to them on loan.

Furthermore, that spell at Leeds was probably the start of White fully showing his attributes, so it is no surprise to see him now playing for a team like Arsenal and performing at a very high level.