West Ham United offered Edwards transfer with £8m decision now made
West Ham have turned down the chance to sign Ronnie Edwards as they will not pay the £4million transfer fee plus £4million in add-ons, as per Claret & Hugh.
The Hammers insider shared via its website [10 January] that Barry Fry had confirmed that Peterborough United’s asking price is simply too much for the 20-year-old defensive star.
It is understood that the club are now looking at other options at centre-back, instead of the 118-appearance Posh player amid a hectic January transfer window.
However, West Ham have also claimed that the defender is too short, standing at six foot, while club scouts remain unsure in other areas of his play.
Fry, now chairman of Peterborough has close links with David Sullivan from their past at Birmingham, although that wasn’t enough to secure a deal here.
An unreasonable asking price
Although Edwards has amassed 118 appearances for his boyhood club at the age of 20, he has been limited to mostly League One football, as well as a single season in the Championship.
A total of £8million for a young defender from a much lower-ranked division would be an extreme risk, but one that may have been needed. Nayef Aguerd is away on international duty, while Kurt Zouma has been prone to injury this season.
This leaves a centre-back partnership of 35-year-old Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is yet to impress under David Moyes since his arrival from VfB Stuttgart in the summer.
With the Hammers battling for a top-four spot in the Premier League and a Europa League trophy to battle for, Moyes will need depth heading into the second half of the season. Edwards could have provided that much-needed cover, but the price tag is far more than expected.
There will be defenders on the market for around the same price, with far more experience already. Edwards may have been a purchase with the future in mind, but West Ham are desperate for players in the short-term too.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers could be set to make an approach for an “unbelievable” forward as his club are now open to a sale.