Leeds United have finally achieved their goal of getting back to the Premier League, and now their focus needs to switch to preparing for life back in the top-flight.

The Whites’ last spell in the Premier League was rather successful, with numerous top-four finishes and a Champions League semi-final appearance to boot, but a lot has changed since then, and they need to make sure they’re ready.

Unfortunately, they’ve not been given the easiest of tasks to begin with as one of their most important players has departed, with Ben White heading back to his parent club Brighton.

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White won United’s Young Player of the Year award, and with him starting every game for the team with the best defence in the league, it’s easy to see just how important he was to Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Graham Potter has recently made it very clear that Brighton don’t want to sell him, and even if he were to leave, the reported fee that would have to be paid is £40m, which is too much for a player who only has one season of Championship-level experience under his belt.

So, Leeds need to be on the lookout for a successor, and this may be one of their toughest tasks to date.

The Whites have of course had to replace key players in the past with Ross McCormack and Chris Wood’s departures hitting them hard, but goalscorers are quite easy to replace as the stats often speak for themselves, while ball-playing defenders are something of a rarer breed.

Getting White in the first place was like striking gold, he’d never played above League One level before, and he was immediately one of the best players in the Championship’s runaway champions, but now he’s gone, and United have to find someone just as good.

It’s previously been stated that the Brighton man is just as good as Man City’s John Stones, and he cost £47.5m when he last moved, so signing someone of that calibre is either going to be very expensive or something of a risk.

Victor Orta needs to unearth a gem once again, because if White isn’t replaced adequately, Leeds could be in trouble next term.