Brighton defender Ben White admits he is flattered with the speculation linking him with an impending move to Arsenal.
The 23-year-old has been the subject of two bids already from the Gunners this summer, but both have fallen short of the Seagulls’ £50million valuation.
Arsenal are expected to return with a third offer and there is an expectation that the player will eventually seal a move to the north London club after Euro 2020, where he is part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
White enjoyed a productive loan spell during Leeds’ promotion winning campaign two seasons ago, and has been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in the past.
The versatile defender, however, insists he has become well accustomed the ‘noise’ surrounding his future, but won’t be distracted if called upon during the knockout stages of the European Championships.
‘It’s nice, it’s happened quite a lot over the last two years, there’s been a lot of noise,’ he told talkSPORT.
On whether he talks to teammates about it, he added: ‘Not really. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not. So there’s no real point talking about it.’
White’s composure on the ball and progressive style is said to have convinced Mikel Arteta to sanction such a massive outlay, but the former Southampton trainee has not always been the confident ball-playing centre-half he is these days.
He said: ‘The way I play now is with a lot of confidence. It’s the complete opposite of what I used to be. I think coming through Brighton the coaches and the people really believed in me.
‘I think you get that with playing and at Southampton I was on the sidelines a lot. But I went Brighton and went straight into the team and played.
‘It’s tough when you get released and you’re not wanted. Especially when you’re young, it’s hard to deal with.
‘You either sink or swim, but for me I obviously wanted it a lot and it was the only thing I wanted at the time so I went for it.’
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