White distanced from Man Utd & Liverpool transfer talk by Brighton boss Potter

Leeds loanee Ben White has sparked talk of interest from Manchester United and Liverpool, but Brighton boss Graham Potter claims the defender still has a future with the Seagulls.

The 22-year-old has taken in just two League Cup appearances for his parent club, with much of his experience to date having been collected from a series of loan spells.

The latest of those, at Elland Road, has seen White’s stock rise to the point that he is now considered to boast enough potential to grace the books at an elite Premier League club.

Brighton are aware of the rumours and intend to keep turning a deaf ear to them.

There are no plans on their part to cut short a stint at Leeds or to open the door for offers to be tabled during the January transfer window.

Potter has told reporters when quizzed on the speculation surrounding White: “There’s all sorts of talk as we know, but the reality is he’s our player and has a future here.

“He’s on loan now at Leeds and having a positive experience, and we’re delighted with that.

”But we’re looking forward to having him back at the right time and we’ll go from there.

“He’s our player, he’s contracted with us.”

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Potter added: “He’s having a good time at Leeds, so we’ll assess at the end of the season to see what the best thing is going forward.

“Unless there is a real push for it we won’t call him back. He’s having a positive time at Leeds and we are well covered in that position. So, we’ll carry on with that process I think.”

White is a player that Potter has been aware of for some time and, having missed on securing his signature in the past, has no intention of passing up another chance to mould a promising and versatile defender.

He said: “As a coaching team we were aware of him when I was at Swansea, we were one of the clubs who would have tried to get him on loan if I was still there. So I know his quality.

“He had a loan spell at Newport and we tracked his progress for quite some time. He’s a player we like.

“If you see the way he plays, he’s a player who fits our way. We want to see him playing for Brighton in future.”

White has taken in 18 appearances for Leeds across all competitions this season, helping them back into a Championship promotion battle as Marcelo Bielsa’s side sit third in the second tier.