Ben White took antibiotics for SEVEN years as a kid due to a life-threatening illness

It takes a special player to win over the Elland Road crowd immediately.

The atmosphere at Leeds United’s home ground is among the most hostile in the country for visiting teams, yet it can be just as intimidating for new players who do not find their feet immediately in the famous white shirt.

Ben White had no such problems when he joined Leeds on loan from Brighton for the 2019-20 campaign. Playing in the centre of Marcelo Bielsa’s defence, White was so impressive in his early games that the Leeds supporters took him to their hearts immediately – and it is that form that has taken him all the way into the senior England squad two years later.

After a single full season in the Premier League with Brighton, White is now on track to make his first competitive start for England – in their opening Euro 2020 fixture against Croatia at Wembley on June 13, after being drafted into the final 26-man squad in place of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

It is a good thing the 23-year-old appears to take life in his stride.

Southgate’s mind was made up after watching White’s impressive performance on his first start in the 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday, England’s final friendly before they begin their campaign. That he is equally comfortable in both a back three and a back four also counted in White’s favour, as he was given the nod ahead of Jesse Lingard and James Ward-Prowse.

White’s rise is all the more remarkable when the difficulty of his early life is taken into account. ‘His immune system was not working,’ his mother, Carole, told The Athletic. ‘If somebody sneezed, he would end up with pneumonia.

‘He had appendicitis and he didn’t come around from that for a while. He had six or seven different infections. He was in hospital for much of his young life, for months at a time.

‘He was seven when he had his appendix out. He was on antibiotics twice a day until the age of eight from 18 months old. He had massive allergies. We carried an Epipen (adrenaline auto-injector) everywhere. It would be the only way to save him.

‘As parents it was either ‘wrap him up in a bubble’ or let him do what he wanted so he had a quality of life. And then, he started to get better.

‘Now he’s not got any allergies at all and the treatment worked. But back then, all those days in hospital, we could never have imagined he could be an athlete.

‘But the specialists did say that the more exercise he did, the better that would be to spark the immune system. So we put him into football, swimming, athletics, rugby, cricket, gymnastics – he did it all.

‘But it is still surreal. My brother and I were talking about seeing Ben on television. It’s so weird as a mum and you just think ‘Gosh, this sickly little lad and now look at him.’

Unlike players who move through the academies of top clubs and into the first team, White had to graft for his place at Brighton. He spent time at Southampton’s academy before joining Albion in 2014, and then had loan stints at Newport and Peterborough before catching the eye of Leeds’ recruitment team.

White has three more years left on his contract at Brighton but few expect him to see them out. Leeds were desperate to bring him back after they were promoted, only for Brighton to hold firm, and there has also been interest from Liverpool. 

He is a hugely promising centre-back for a country who have far too few of them, and his status as a homegrown player will only push up his transfer value as clubs grapple with new Brexit rules.

Such discussions are for the future. Ben White has his hands full with the present – but everything he has done so far suggests he will handle it just fine.