Report details Premier League club stance amid reported Leeds interest in defender

Add as preferred source on Google

The Argus has detailed Brighton & Hove Albion’s stance over teenage defender Haydon Roberts amid interest from Leeds United, who missed out on re-signing Ben White earlier this summer following his stunning 2019-20 campaign on loan.

Leeds missed out on White despite numerous reported bids, with the fan favourite starting both Premier League matches for Brighton since the restart of the 2020-21 campaign. Roberts, 18, has since been targeted by Leeds, as per the report.

Roberts is a five-time England Under-18 international that has already broken into Brighton’s senior side on two occasions, the latter of which came against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup last week. He has entered the final year of his contract.

Despite his contractual situation, The Argus state that Brighton’s stance is Roberts will not be sold or even loaned out amid interest from Marcelo Bielsa’s side. TransferMarkt claim Roberts has the same agent as previous Leeds target Che Adams.

TBR’s view – Leeds need a defender, but an experienced one

At centre-back, the Whites are lacking in senior options. Liam Cooper returned to play alongside Robin Koch on Saturday but beyond the senior duo, Leeds have young trio Pascal Struijk, Olly Casey and Charlie Cresswell.

While all three are showing plenty of potential, Leeds need a third experienced option at centre-back. Roberts, meanwhile, is another example of a highly-rated centre-back – perhaps more so than Casey and Cresswell.

But do Leeds need him? Or do they need to go after a player with a few years Premier League experience under his belt? Surely, it is the latter, especially after seven goals conceded in two league games.