Before Brighton & Hove Albion, it was Southampton who were renowned for their world-class transfer strategy for identifying young players both for their first-team and at youth level.
The Saints may have been relegated to the Championship, but this hasn’t stopped Russell Martin’s side from recouping over £150m in transfer sales with young players such as Tino Livramento and Romeo Lavia who have both departed St.Mary’s Stadium.
In recent years, players such as James Ward-Prowse, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Gareth Bale have progressed through the Staplewood training ground and into the Saints first-team.
Despite the Hampshire outfit’s excellent ability to nurture upcoming prospects, the youth coaching staff at Staplewood will be hiding behind their hands for letting go of Ben White for free who was previously on their books.
Southampton has missed out on potentially adding a very healthy £50m to the club's coffers after deciding to release the now 6 foot 1 defender.
What must hurt even more is that White went for more money than Saints' most recent prized possession, Ward-Prowse, who was sold for only £30m to West Ham United after playing over 400 games for the club.
Why did White get released by Southampton?
The England international began his journey with Southampton as a young child and slowly worked his way up the age groups.
However, the powerful defender would end up finding himself on the chopping block for which academy players would get a chance to earn a new contract and get a well-deserved run-in with the first team.
White had to face the news which many footballers dread to hear and was told that he was going to be released by the Saints when he was 16 years old.
The £47m-valued defender has now admitted why he believes he wasn’t offered the opportunity to stay on with Southampton.
White said: "When I was at Southampton I didn't have any confidence. The way I play now is with a lot of confidence. It's the complete opposite of what I used to be.
"It's tough when you get released and you're not wanted. Especially when you're young, it's hard to deal with. You either sink or swim, but for me, I obviously wanted it a lot and it was the only thing I wanted at the time so I went for it."
The now 25-year-old’s mother, Carole, decided to phone up a number of clubs touting White's services as a way to help her son bounce back.
What was White’s next move?
After his release from Southampton, the 6 foot 1 defender was offered trials at Leicester City and Bristol City but eventually chose to stay on the south coast and signed for Brighton.
John Morling, head of Brighton’s academy, described the then-teen defender as “technically good” and “passed the ball well” which is even more ever-present today.
White thrived in the Seagulls' U23 team but if the ball-playing centre-back was to make it at the top level he had to improve on his physicality.
Welsh side Newport County would be where the young defender would be sent on loan in 2017 to gain more exposure in a first-team environment.
The then-manager of the League 2 outfit, Michael Flynn, described the signing of White as a “big coup” which couldn't be further from the truth.
Also described as a “Rolls-Royce” of a defender by his ex-manager, White smashed it in his one season at the Rodney Parade.
He then finished his season in Wales winning the Exiles’ Player of the Year award as he helped his side finish 11th.
The most memorable moment during White’s stint at Newport was reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup in front of a packed crowd to see the Exiles play against Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.
How did White’s career pan out?
The defending powerhouse would have follow-up loans with League 1 side Peterborough United and Championship big-boys Leeds United helping the latter win the division earning him a sport in the PFA Team of the Year.
After six years contracted to the Seagulls, White would finally become a regular in the Brighton first-team for the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, finding himself at the top of the pecking order as he averaged 89 minutes played a game.
During his 36 Premier League games across the season, White averaged 1.4 tackles per game a slight decrease to the 1.6 he averaged in the season prior in a dominant Leeds side in the Championship – showing he was adapting nicely to England’s top division.
According to FotMob, only defensive midfielder Yves Bissouma (1.9) averaged more interceptions per 90 than White in the entire Brighton squad.
The 6 foot 1 "mentality monster" – as lauded by former Gunners teammate Rob Holding – clearly demonstrated he was more than capable of playing consistently for a top division side and due to his young age he was already attracting interest from the Premier League’s elite as Arsenal came calling.
White officially signed for the Gunners in a deal worth a reported £50m and he would also be a late call-up to Gareth Southgate's England Euro 2020 squad.
How has White fared at Arsenal so far?
Newport County’s former Player of the Year performed as expected during his first year in north London.
Playing as both a ball-playing centre-back and a right-back, White was the standout performer statistically for defenders at the Emirates.
Across his 32 Premier League matches, White made the most interceptions (42) in the entire Arsenal squad and joint first with Tomiyasu for interceptions per 90 1.3 according to FotMob.
The Englishman also ranked first for clearances per 90 within his squad with 3.2 per game.
However, if you step back and look at the entire league White’s stats are above average.
North London rival's centre-back pairing of Davinson Sánchez and Cristian Romero averaged 1.7 and 1.6 interceptions per match respectively with former Watford defender Hassane Kamara averaging an insane 3.5 interceptions per match.
Similarly, when taking into account all Premier League defenders White is ranked joint 19th for clearances per 90 with fellow England stars Harry Maguire (3.6), Eric Dier (4.1) and Tyrone Mings (4.2) all ranking higher than Arsenal defenders.
Ben White’s statistics in the Premier League, according to WhoScored Stat 2021/22 2022/23 Games 32 36 (2) Goals 0 2 Assists 0 5 Interceptions per game 1.3 0.6 Tackles per game 1.4 1.6 Key Passes per game 0.4 0.7 Pass success percentage 84.6% 86.6%
White has drastically improved within a year in north London.
Mikel Arteta has allowed for the England international to be a catalyst in starting attacks from defence and that has been highlighted in last season’s stats.
Not only has the defender been involved in scoring goals he has also been a force creating them as last season he produced five assists.
White’s pass success percentage has also increased slightly showing he is becoming less incompetent on the ball and has been molded into a ball-playing defender that Arteta demands.
His defensive output has also not slowed down despite being more adept at playing as an attacking full-back at times.
White tackles per game have increased from 1.4 to 1.6, showing his pressing mentality is paying off.
Arteta still has at least another seven years to get the best out of White and he could play a vital role if he is to stop former mentor Pep Guardiola from winning Manchester City their eight Premier League title.