Former Whites defender says Leeds United have upgraded on Pontus Jansson with Brighton's Ben White

And a former Leeds United defender reckons the 22-year-old could wear a Whites shirt for years and years, if the chips fall right and Marcelo Bielsa takes them to the promised land.

Former White Ben Parker says the man Leeds have borrowed from Brighton for the season has been “first class” in his first taste of Championship football.

His performances in the first 10 weeks of the season have not only soothed the concerns that arose when Jansson was sold to Brentford in July, but allowed talk to turn to the youngster’s long-term future.

“Going back to when Pontus left the club, I think everyone associated with the club barring Bielsa, his staff and players, was maybe panicking,” said Parker, who made 55 appearances for Leeds and now works for the club’s in-house broadcast operation.

“Pontus is a good player, he was a big character, fans liked him. So when we were looking around at the options, we just had Ben White coming to the club, a young player who had been out on loan a couple of times.

“For him to step up and be an upgrade on Pontus speaks volumes for him personally.”

White’s blossoming friendship with new team-mate Kalvin Phillips is a good sign in Parker’s eyes that the defender is making himself at home at Elland Road.

The pair took a trip to Iceland with their respective partners this week during the international break and are seen together on the pitch before each game playing keepy-uppy with chewing gum.

But it’s White’s ice-cool displays next to Liam Cooper in Marcelo Bielsa’s backline that have endeared him to Parker and everyone else at Leeds United.

His decision making on the ball and his reading of the game – White has made more interceptions per game than any other Championship player – make him an ideal defensive team-mate and a kitman’s dream.

“The fact that he’s gone away with Kalvin with the two girlfriends shows how well he has actually settled,” said Parker.

“In terms of what he does out on a pitch, where he gets judged ultimately, different class, superb. The kitmen must love him because I don’t think they have to wash his kit, he doesn’t seem to sweat, doesn’t get it dirty, never slides in, never caught out of position.

“Kiko must love playing with him because he can just roll him the ball, he might glide past someone, do a simple pass, but whatever he does is the right thing at that moment and that’s what you want from a centre-half.”

White’s ability to pick out a team-mate from long range has been a key feature of Bielsa’s team’s style of play this season.

It allows Leeds to beat a press, stretch opponents, introduce width to their play or put men in behind the opposition defence.

Parker says it’s as much about vision and confidence with White as it is technical ability.

“In possession [it’s about] the way he sees the picture in front of him.

“He hits those diagonal passes we’ve seen him hit, he doesn’t mind hitting those from a deep position and that says something to the players in front of him, they have to work hard off the ball to create that little bit of space for the man on it.

“The option is there for the 50, 60-yard diag’ because it’s a no-risk pass in Ben White’s opinion, it’s something he feels comfortable doing.

“When you speak to a lot of centre-halves up and down the league they’ll be winding their leg up trying to smash it as far as they can, but to him it’s second nature.”

White, also comfortable running the ball from deep, is rarely dribbled past and until Cooper’s injury, had been forming a solid-looking partnership.

Having excelled in League Two with Newport County and handled League One life at Peterborough, White has made his next step up look easy, so far.

That makes it hard to envisage parent club Brighton letting him go without a fight, or at least an enormous wad of cash – they themselves had to shell out £25m for Bristol City defender Adam Webster – and it’s nigh on impossible to picture Leeds keeping him unless they go up.

But Parker can see White in a white shirt for years to come.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his future because you could see him playing at this club for 10-plus years the way he’s going.”