Arsenal are believed to be closing in on the signing of Ben White from Brighton this summer, and Ray Parlour believes it will be a good signing despite the supposed fee.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with the defender’s capture since the end of the season, and we finally look to have agreed a fee with his current club.
Recent reports claimed that we were simply awaiting for White to return from holiday to complete his medical before the deal could be announced officially, with the DailyMail claiming the date will be Monday July 26th and former Gunner Parlour that he will be a ‘good signing’ even though the fee is on the excessive side.
“£50 million, which is a lot of money,” Parlour told TalkSPORT. “But he’s a good player. He will certainly be in that England squad going forward in many tournaments.
“Chilwell and Walker went for £50 million. Obviously, Harry Maguire is the record. He went for £85 million, didn’t he?!
“But he will definitely play at centre-half for Arsenal, Ben White. 23-years-old. He’s going to sign a five-year contract.
“It just shows the way some players go. Newport County, he was playing for three years ago. So, he has gone to Brighton. He has done really well and now he’s going to be playing for Arsenal.
“The Arsenal fans will be happy with that – I think that’s a good signing for Arsenal even though it’s a lot of money.”
When you consider that he was Gareth Southgate’s fifth choice at centre-back this summer, his asking price definitely sounds a little excessive, but Arsenal and England have different styles of play, and we are not simply signing him for today, but also investing in what he can bring to the club for the upcoming years.
If you think White’s asking price is excessive, we could look at Jadon Sancho’s fee also, considering Sancho was England’s seventh choice for the wide role, behind all of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and even Mason Mount for the wide attacking role, and is expected to cost over 50% more than we are set to pay for White.
Is the White fee excessive or will it prove to be value for money?
Patrick