Ben White is “still pinching himself” after making the switch to Arsenal, his agent has revealed alongside other intricate details of the transfer.
Arsenal hope to end the current transfer window on a high, with plenty more signings expected to arrive before deadline day. The Gunners have prioritised signing a striker and an attacking midfielder, having already added a central midfielder, left-back, and central defender in the last months.
One target Arsenal have successfully acquired is Ben White, and his agent has spoken about how the whole thing went. White arrived in a £50 million deal from Brighton to become Arsenal’s third summer arrival after Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga. The defender was quickly thrust into action against Chelsea and showcased his talent with a tremendous block off a Hakim Ziyech effort.
The Arsenal defender’s agent, Alex Levack, has opened up about the transfer process with the Gunners and what transpired behind the scenes before his client signed on the dotted line. He claims the new Arsenal centre-back is still in shock over getting a dream move to one of England’s traditional ‘Big Six’ clubs and remains ecstatic.
football.london published some of Levack’s quotes from an interview with Sky Sports. The agent said the primary hurdle was over the fee, revealing, “The main challenge really was agreeing on the fee between the two clubs and structuring the deal in the right way.”
? “Brighton didn't want to sell & weren't really willing to give a valuation. With Tony Bloom being a poker player & gambler, he was hard to read."
? Ben White’s agent, Alex Levack, has been speaking about #BHAFC’s dealings in the club-record £50 million move. pic.twitter.com/AIAe9muYie
— Seagulls Central (@SeagullsCentral) August 5, 2021
“Brighton didn’t really want to sell and weren’t really willing to give a valuation for the player, and with Tony Bloom being a professional poker player and gambler, he was hard to read. But I think both clubs dealt with the utmost integrity, and it was pretty smooth, and I think the outcome was best for all parties involved.”
When asked how long Arsenal wanted White, Levack said, “Arsenal have always had a long-term interest in Ben. The way he plays is very conducive with the way that Arsenal like to play, and it was very fascinating the attention to detail that Arsenal put into scouting the players that they are going to sign, whether that would be artificial attention, data analysis or video analysis – it’s all very impressive. So, they were very consistent with wanting Ben.”
Finally, when quizzed about Mikel Arteta and director Edu, Levack only had glowing words for the Gunners duo. He said, “Edu, Mikel Arteta, and actually all the guys at Arsenal were excellent to deal with. They were consistent in their message that they were going to do all they could to get Ben, and in all fairness that was proven with the level of transfer fee they paid for Ben.”
Levack also explained what is going through’s Ben White’s head after the move, suggesting the defender was still in shock. “Ben’s delighted – I think he’s had to pinch himself with the Arsenal move and England call up. It’s all fully deserved for the fantastic footballer, the amazing attitude, and the family support network around him. “I think this is now a fantastic foundation for him to kick on and show everybody what he’s about.”
While the big move has finally been completed, it will be interesting to see if White can take his career to the next level at Arsenal and, more importantly, if he can help Arsenal in becoming one of the best-performing teams in England once again.
