ALBION’S development manager has urged Ben White to prove himself in the Premier League following a stellar season with Leeds.

And David Weir says he wants to see the defender do this in an Albion shirt amid speculation over the 22-year-old’s future at the club.

The former Rangers and Scotland player made the comments as he assessed the seasons of the Seagull’s returning loan players, with White having made 46 appearances to help Leeds claim the Championship title.

Weir said: “Ben played every minute, which is really impressive.

“Like Christian Walton he has come through and played at different levels and matched the level expected of him.

“He has stood out in the Championship – he has continued to improve at a gradual rate.

“ Now he has to come back to us and prove that he is a Premier League player.

“He has shown that he is good enough to be promoted out of the Championship and be consistent.”

White has been linked with moves to Chelsea and Leeds in recent days, with Albion reportedly rejecting a £22 million bid for him from the Yorkshire club.

And the Seagulls, it seems, are intent on holding on to his services, with the defender currently under contract at the club until 2022.

Weir also provided a summary of fellow defender Matt Clarke’s season at Derby County, in which he made 35 appearances.

He said: “It was a disappointing end for Derby not to reach the play-offs.

“Matt had a stop-start beginning there because of injury.

“As the season progressed he got better and better and he made himself a permanent fixture in the team.

“They had a strong finish to the season and Matt was a big factor in that.”

“He has really developed as a player. It was his first full season in the Championship which is an excellent level and he finished it off by being their Player of the Season which says it all in terms of how well he did.”