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.
In addition to London rivals Crystal Palace, the Hammers also have to contend with the formidable Aston Villa.
Although it may seem expensive to pay £4.5 million for a player from the third division, Edwards is a highly regarded defender, as evidenced by the increasing amount of interest in him.
If Edwards showed up this month, he might not necessarily be a starter, but he is a long-term option.
It is imperative to finalize this deal as soon as possible if the interest is still present.
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