West Ham United, Southampton or Crystal Palace would have to pay a minimum of £14 million to bring Marcus Edwards back to the Premier League from Vitoria Guimaraes, according to Record.
Oddly enough for a two-footed winger once famously likened to Lionel Messi by former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino (Sky), Edwards’ finest display in North London actually came at the home of Spurs’ bitter rivals, in October 2019.
The former England U20 international caused Arsenal’s ever-creaking backline no end of problems during Vitoria’s up-and-at-‘em performance at the Emirates in last season’s Europa League group stages.
In fact, if the rest of Vitoria’s side had been as lethal as Edwards, who opened the scoring on the night, the Primeira Liga outfit would have been celebrating a famous win rather than a valiant 3-2 defeat.
A year on from that impressive performance in the English capital, TEAMtalk reports that Edwards could return to England on a full-time basis.
West Ham, Southampton, Fulham and Crystal Palace want to offer the quicksilver 22-year-old a second chance in the Premier League. But whether they are willing to meet Vitoria’s sizeable demands remains to be seen.
Brentford, Bournemouth and Swansea are interested too, although it seems unlikely a Championship club would be able to pay £14 million up front.
Promotion is a must if any of the aforementioned trio are serious about landing Edwards’ signature.
The one-time Norwich City loanee produced nine goals and nine assists last season but the 2020/21 campaign has been a bit more of a struggle. So far, he has produced one goal and two assists in ten games.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
