---
title: "Virals: Everton Want to Hijack Arsenal talks for Ben White"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/virals-everton-want-to-hijack-arsenal-talks-for-ben-white/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Alex Jones"
section: "Everton News"
published: "2021-07-02T12:20:00Z"
modified: "2021-07-02T12:20:00Z"
---

# Virals: Everton Want to Hijack Arsenal talks for Ben White

[Everton](https://readeverton.com/2021/07/02/virals-seamus-colemans-discusses-new-everton-boss/) have made a late move in an attempt to hijack a deal to sign Brighton and England defender Ben White.

The young centre-half, currently on international duty with England, has been the subject of [intense interest](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/15460811/ben-white-everton-transfer-rafa-benitez-arsenal/) from Premier League side Arsenal over a £50 million deal for the home-grown talent.

Fresh reports from the Daily Mail, as quoted by [The Toffee Blues (@EvertonNewsFeed) on Twitter](https://twitter.com/EvertonNewsFeed/status/1410700202856652807), indicate that the Gunners will now need to compete with Everton for White’s signature.

> Twitter: ![?](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/svg/1f5de.svg)Everton have held talks with Brighton over Defender, Ben White regarding a £50M move. No formal offer has been mad… https://t.co/4gjLhOV1sc (@EvertonNewsFeed)

No formal offer has been reportedly lodged, with the club supposedly willing to match Brighton’s £50 million price tag – though the Toffees only wish to offer an initial £20 million up front.

The remainder of the deal would see £30 million paid in instalments spread across four years.

The Dorset-born defender, 23, spent the 2019/20 campaign impressing for Leeds United in their Championship title-winning campaign before featuring in [almost every Premier League game](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ben-white/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/335721) (36) for his parent club.

### Read Everton Verdict

With Benitez fresh through the gates of Goodison Park, club officials have wasted no time in getting the process of rebuilding the squad underway.

A 2-cap England international with plenty of promising years ahead of him, White could be a shrewd home-grown investment to shore up Everton’s defence for years to come.

White is also versatile and is adept in a central defensive midfield role, with the potential to feature in a variety of tactical configurations.

[He is noted](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog-soccer-transfers/story/4301809/why-the-premier-leagues-top-clubs-all-want-brightons-ben-white) for his ability to drive attacks from deeper-lying positions and is a masterful interceptor, adding dynamism and quality to defences.

However, whether Brighton would accept the lack of a significant upfront fee in relation to the rest of the overall cost of the deal is another conundrum for the Toffees.