Aston Villa join West Ham United and Crystal Palace in race for Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards
Aston Villa have joined West Ham and Crystal Palace in the race to sign Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster shared the update on the England Under-20s captain, who is said to be valued at an initial £4.5million, on their live blog on Friday [5 January, 07:28pm].
West Ham were strongly linked with the centre-back in the summer and were always expected to reignite their interest in the January transfer window.
The Sky Sports update read: “Aston Villa are looking to rival Crystal Palace and West Ham for Peterborough’s England U20 captain Ronnie Edwards.
“Peterborough would require a £4.5m down-payment and sizeable add-ons for the highly-regarded defender.”
Speaking on Sky Sports News soon after [5 January, 07:50pm] reporter Michael Bridge added: “He’s a very highly-rated centre-half. We understand West Ham, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are three Premier League clubs looking at him.”
Get it done
West Ham seemed to be on the verge of bringing in Edwards last summer, only for a deal to fall through for whatever reason.
If that interest was so strong just five months ago, you would expect United are still eager to bring in the 20-year-old this month.
However, the longer West Ham take to make their move, the more the interest in him grows from elsewhere.
Not only do the Hammers face competition from London rivals Crystal Palace, high-flying Aston Villa are also now in the mix.
Signing a player from the third tier for £4.5m may seem a little steep, but Edwards is a very highly rated defender – as this growing interest shows.
Edwards would not necessarily be in contention to start should he arrive this month, but he is an option for the long term.
If the interest is indeed still there, it is time to get this deal over the line before it is too late.
In other West Ham news, Michail Antonio has made an admission on the club’s January transfer business.