Clrnc wrote:
Burnwinter wrote:
If we didn't have Ben White we'd have been in the market for both a right back and a centre half last summer and winter.
We wouldn't be in for a CB as we have Saliba.
And we won't be signing White as a RB because he will still be playing at CB foe Brighton if we were looking for a RB
You're understating the deficiency we'd have if we hadn't signed White.
First off, Holding would be on the pitch after our first injury or suspension at centre half. And although he's a good player, he's no Gabriel or Saliba, so we would face the need to adjust our tactics out from the back. And we'd have been in for a right back, as otherwise Cedric would be playing 20+ matches a season given how brittle Tomiyasu is, and we'd be losing matches like Palace away then.
The quality drop across the backline without White to play across those positions is very substantial and would cost plenty to mitigate. It's good planning to pick up a relatively durable, consistent player (touch wood) who covers both positions and brings us depth in both.
To put it another way, White's midfield equivalent, the miracle player who could cover 6 and 8 relative to Partey and Ødegaard as White covers defence relative to Saliba and Tomiyasu, would be worth well over £50m to us today, especially if whoever it was could be anointed as Partey or Xhaka's successor.
