According to the Evening Standard, Crystal Palace have submitted a bid for Tottenham target Ronnie Edwards.
What’s the story?
Well, it was Barry Fry – Director of Football at Peterborough – who revealed that Spurs had been monitoring the England Under-19 international “for a long time” as he shines in the centre of defence.
However, the north Londoners could now lose out to Crystal Palace, whose offer is actually an improved bid after they saw an initial move rebuffed by the League One outfit.
The Evening Standard do not reveal the value of Crystal Palace’s bid, although Peterborough have been demanding £15m for their 19-year-old wonderkid.
Since the news first broke, the Express have added that it is a bid of £4m potentially rising to £8m with add-ons, and Edwards himself is keen on the move to south London.
It is also said that Edwards is a target for Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel, who have shown a tendency to hoover up the best young talent in Europe this summer with moves for gems such as Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei.
In that respect, Crystal Palace fans should be excited about the improved offer for Edwards, who helped the England Under-19 side win the European Championship earlier this summer.
So far this season, the teenager has made six appearances in League One for Peterborough.
How Crystal Palace could use the Tottenham target
With quality options such as Marc Guéhi and Joachim Andersen already at Selhurst Park, you may wonder where Edwards would fit into the backline under Patrick Vieira.
Interestingly, the Frenchman has used a five-man defence on a few occasions already this season, most notably in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool and the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City.
Joel Ward, a natural right-back, has been used as a centre-back in those games, so there is definitely a space for Edwards to shine alongside Guéhi and Andersen when Vieira switches his formation up.
The potential signing of Edwards would not be good news for James Tomkins, however.
Vieira is yet to hand the Englishman a single second of Premier League football this season, and only gave him eight Premier League appearances last term.
Therefore, if Edwards arrives at Selhurst Park, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Tomkins depart.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
