Ben White for £50m is better value than Raphael Varane for £43m

Two big defensive transfers look set to be completed in the Premier League in the coming days. Ben White only needs to complete a medical with Arsenal to secure his £50 million move from Brighton whilst Raphael Varane is close to joining Manchester United from Real Madrid for £43 million.

This has led to many of the so-called football experts on Twitter going out of their minds. They cannot fathom how a World Cup, Champions League, Super Cup, La Liga and Copa Del Rey winner with 79 caps for France costs less than a bloke who helped 1996 Coca Cola Cup Runners Up The Leeds United to win the Championship title and was part of a Brighton side who finished 16th in the Premier League last season.

All these people gleefully mocking Arsenal for the £50 million that they are about to pay for Ben White do not seem to understand that comparing that fee with what Raphael Varane is costing United is a pretty simple way of looking at it.

Their transfers are not really comparable at all, not when you take a wider look at the finances involved, the type of players that they are, or the different stages they are at in their careers.

Pointing out the differences between Raphael Varane and Ben White in the summer of 2021 is like saying that the young country western singer currently playing to small crowds in Nashville at the beginning of her journey to stardom is no Taylor Swift.

Firstly, there is a very obvious reason why Varane is cheaper than White in this summer’s market. The French international is costing ‘only’ £43 million because he is in the final year of his Real contract; if Los Blancos do not sell this summer and Varane does not pen a new deal, he walks away for a free next summer. Better for Real to accept a cut-price £43 million now.

White meanwhile is 12 months into the four-year deal he signed last summer. Brighton were under no pressure to sell given the security that contract offered and so were able to set whatever price they like.

The initial fee is only the start of transfers in the 21st century. Whilst people may be crowing at United picking up Varane for cheaper than Arsenal are about to secure White, the reality is that Varane will actually cost £131.4 million compared to £81.2 million for White when wages are factored in.

According to L’Equipe, Varane will nearly double his Real pay packet from £190,000 a week to earn a staggering £340,000 at United over the next four years with an option for a fifth. That works out at £88.4 million for the duration of a five-year stretch.

White meanwhile has agreed terms on a £120,000 per week contract with Arsenal. Over the same five year timeframe, he will take home around £31.2 million. Now who is getting the better deal, finance wise?

Then there is the future value of White compared to the future value of Varane, which is where comparisons of the two players become even more silly.

Varane is 28-years-old and at the peak of his powers. If he stays at United for the full duration of his five year contract, he will be 33 by the time it ends.

He will have little resale value and so the money which United are forking out for him is never going to offer a financial return on investment.

Compare that to White who is 23 and has shown over the past four years that he possesses the ability to improve at an incredible speed.

Since joining Newport County on loan for the 2017-18 season, White has torn through League Two, League One with Peterborough United, the Championship with The Leeds United and now the Premier League with Brighton to become a full England international.

If he continues to progress at such a rate, then in five years time he will be an England regular and one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

Come 2026, Varane will be a pensioner in football terms whilst White will be preparing to lead England’s bid for success at the World Cup in North America.

Anyone who has watched White turning out regularly for Brighton in 2020-21 knows that such a bold statement is not getting carried away. He can defend, he can pick a pass, he can step into midfield with possession and he will even pop up in an opponent’s box to pose an unexpected attacking threat.

Just ask Pep Guardiola. When Brighton beat Manchester City 3-2 in May, White did what few defenders manage and kept Phil Foden pretty quiet over the course of the 90 minutes.

At the other end of the pitch, City and their billion petrodollar squad looked utterly bamboozled whenever White arrived in their area. It took a couple of world class blocks to prevent White scoring with rasping volleys and making the outcome even more embarrassing for the champions against Little Old Brighton.

Not only is White a defender, but he can cover several other positions too. That further increases his value. United are paying £43 million for Varane, who has never played anywhere other than centre back in his career.

Arsenal are paying £50 million for a centre back, a right back, a right wing back and a central midfielder all rolled into one. So versatile is White that Gareth Southgate even felt confident enough to give him his England debut against Austria as a second half substitute in place of Jack Grealish.

White went close to notching at the Riverside Stadium with an effort from 25 yards. When Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off in the final 10 minutes to leave England playing with 10 men, White dropped back into defence. He then made an outrageous goal line block with Jordan Pickford beaten to preserve the clean sheet and the Three Lions’ 1-0 win.

The best term to describe White is a Rolls-Royce footballer. If Arsenal do not sort themselves out and give him a chance at winning the biggest the trophies in the game, then you can be sure that eventually a club like Manchester City or – imagine the irony – Manchester United will.

White could even end up being Varane’s replacement, which would be hilarious for all those failing to understand the reasons that White is costing £7 million more than Varane this summer.

If/when White does leave the Emirates for bigger and better things, then the Gunners will receive a fee far exceeding the £50 million which they are forking out now.

There is every chance Arsenal could make a profit on White, something United never will on Varane. That would be good news for Brighton, with Tony Bloom said to have negotiated a decent sell-on clause. Bloom too knows that White is going right to the top.

£131.4 million for Raphael Varane over the next five years knowing that he is not going to get much better or £88.4 million for Ben White over the next five years, knowing that an already very good centre back who can cover three positions is open to even more improvement?

I know which of those deals I would rather be involved with. Now, please do not ruin him Arsenal.

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