White: Aidan Peter (Aidy)

2008-2015 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Left Back

Born: Leeds: 10-10-1991

Debut: Crystal Palace (h) 26-08-08

Height&Weight: 5'7" 9st 8lb (2009)

The Otley-born Left-Back/Winger was educated at St Mary's Catholic High School Menston and joined the Leeds United Thorp Arch Academy in 2002. He turned professional as a trainee and joined the club's scholarship scheme during the summer of 2008 after learning his trade as a schoolboy with the Academy. He was handed his first team debut against Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup on 26th August 2008, at left-back, when he impressed Manager Gary McAllister and was given a standing ovation by the Leeds crowd when he was replaced by Bradley Johnson after seventy-three minutes. He also featured in the West Yorkshire derby meeting with Bradford City in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on 2nd September 2008 when he was presented with the Man of the Match award and played all but the last four minutes of the game. He made his League debut on 20th September 2008 in the 2-0 away win at Carlisle United when he clearly won the honours against the physical Cleveland Taylor and played the full niney minutes. He established himself at left back with League games against Hereford United at Elland Road, when he played all but ten minutes, seventy-four minutes of the game with Peterborogh United at London Road, a full ninety minutes against Brighton and Hove Albion at Elland Road, another full game against Millwall at the New Den, followed by seven minutes as a substitute in the Elland Road F.A. Cup encounter with Northampton Town and the last fifteen minutes as a substitute in the League Cup Tie at Pride Park with Derby County. He signed a new four year contract on 30th November 2008 designed to keep him at Elland Road until 2012. He then was out of contention for much of the rest of the season with nagging injury problems. He gained England Under-Seventeen honours when he came on as a seventy-third minute substitute in a friendly game against the Czech Republic at Walsall's Banks's Stadium on 25th March 2009. He regained fitness for the new season but suffered a knee injury in the pre-season friendlies and missed the start of the season and it was not until 6th October 2009 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy against Darlington that he made the first team and was rewarded with a full ninety minutes. He made a couple of substitute appearances and then was drafted into the starting team for the F.A. Cup Replay against Kettering Town, but injury caused him to be replaced after fifty-six minutes. He came on as a substitute in the F.A. Cup ties with Manchester United at Old Trafford and Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and Elland Road. He started in the League against Oldham Atletic on 23rd February 2010, but had to be substituted in the sixty-fifth minute and was given a standing ovation by the crowd. He also started the game against Brentford on 6th March 2010 and was not replaced until the eightieth minute, in a tactical move. He won the Leeds United "Young Player of the Year" award at the end of the season. White found it difficult to break into the United first team as they consolidated their position in the Championship as first Fede Bessone played half-a dozen games but then George McCartney was loaned from Sunderland until the end of the calendar year. There seemed little point to have the left-back idle or in the Reserves and so he was loaned to Oldham Athletic to get some first team experience from 19th November 2011 to the end of the calendar year and he scored twice in five starts for the Latics. He was off to a flyer when he scored the only goal of the game in his debut on 20th November 2010, when he scored in the fifty-seventh minute at Dagenham & Redbridge but better was to follow when three days later he opened the scoring in the eighth minute as Oldham drew 3-3 with Exeter City at Boundary Park. Back at Elland Road Andy Hughes and Ben Parker both had their chances in the left back spot before George McCartney was again loaned from Sunderland on 14th January until the end of the season. This saw White return to Boundary Park on 27th January 2011 for the rest of the season. He scored two further goals in another fourteen starts and five games from the bench in the League. White soon established his credentials and proved he was the club's first choice left-back in the pre-season games and was a regular from the first game at Southampton. He missed few games in the season until he was injured at Watford on 31st March 2012 and did not return after the half-time break after the ankle injury was worse than first feared and put him out for the rest of the season. The signing of Danny Pugh gave White a chance to show his talents as a winger and he made several appearances on both wings to good effect. The games he did miss were when he was called up for the Ireland Under-Twenty-One team, who he elected to play for at International level, despite having been born in England and already been capped by them at Under-Nineteen level. He did have one game as an unused substitute at home to Middlesbrough on 13th August 2011 and missed the home game with Crystal Palace on 10th September 2011, after being sent off at Ipswich Town on 27th August 2011. He missed the Carling Cup tie with Bradford City as he was making his debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 2-1 win over Austria on 9th August 2011 in Sligo, where he played seventy-three minutes before being replaced by Aaron Greene of Sligo Rovers. His second cap came on 1st September again in Sligo, when Ireland defeated Hungary 2-1. His third was at Manisa in Turkey, six days later when the home side won 1-0. His fourth cap came in Eschen in Liechtenstein on 11th October when Ireland won 4-1. His fifth came in the return game at Sligo when he got his first International goal in the thirty-seventh minute. His sixth cap came in a 1-2 defeat by Denmark at Tallaght Park Dublin on 28th May 2012. He gained a seventh cap on 4th June 2012 in a 2-2 draw with Italy in Sligo. White had been linked with several clubs both in England and abroad. Derby County in October 2011 and Norwich City after the end of the season together with Newcastle United and Celtic of Scotland, German side Werder Bremen and French club Lille. Simon Grayson offered White a new four year contract in December, but White declined it. His contract was due to expire in June and Neil Warnock offered White a new contract, there was no absence of choice available to the talented youngster and on 22nd May Manager Neil Warnock stated that he expected White to leave the club. In July 2012 he signed a new three year deal with Leeds and was given the No. 14 shirt. On 25th September 2012 he scored his first goal for Leeds in the 2-1 League Cup victory over Everton. He went on to score his first League goal for Leeds after an hour in the Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town at Elland Road on 16th March 2013. Although he was used by Warnock in a variety of positions, left-back and left midfield being his usual position to utilize his pace, he was also given a role on the right of midfield on several occasions, but he could not hold a regular spot in the starting eleven and ten of his twenty-four games in the League saw him come from the bench. His International career with the Republic of Ireland Under-Twenty-Ones continued, with a 0-1 defeat by Turkey at Sligo on 14th August 2012 and a 1-2 defeat in Hungary on 6th September 2012. But four days later he celebrated his tenth cap by captaining the side to a surprise 4-2 win over Italy in Casarano. His Leeds career was blighted by injury and in the final two seasons he started just two League games, both in the 2013-14 season. He was loaned to Sheffield United from 29th October 2013 to 1st January 2014 and made eight starts. However his only game in 2014-15 came in the final game of the season, as a seventy-first minute substitute for Alex Mowatt in a 0-0 home draw with Rotherham United. Out of contract at the end of that season, on 10th June 2015 he joined Championship side Rotherham United on a one year contract.