Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United set to miss out on Peterborough wonderkid Ronnie Edwards despite Sir Alex Ferguson advising transfer
According to The Sun, Manchester United are set to miss out on signing Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards in the upcoming transfer window in the summer, despite Sir Alex Ferguson‘s recommendation of the player.
The teenager has been in fine form for Peterborough, impressing in the Championship with his defensive displays on the pitch, despite the team destined for relegation from the English second division.
He has also gotten a call-up to play for his country at the youth level, representing the England under-19s. Evidently, the player seems to be destined for great things in the future, but only time will tell if he is able to fulfil his potential.
United’s interest in him can be understood, given how poor their defensive record has been this season. It has seen them slip down the Premier League table, sitting in sixth position and in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.
Germany touted as likely destination
It certainly means something when a personality such as Sir Alex gives you his seal of approval, with the former Red Devils manager urging his old side to sign Edwards last summer. However, it seems to have fallen on deaf ears as the club instead splashed the cash on Real Madrid star Raphael Varane.
That could prove to be costly as the Manchester side looks set to lose the teenager to the Bundesliga, with RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Borussia Dortmund leading the race to sign the central defender, who is expected to cost between £15m and £20m.
It is no longer a surprise to see German sides go behind young, talented English players. After all, we have seen Dortmund sign the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, and develop them further in an attempt to make them future superstars.
Edwards seems to be coming from the same mould, given that he once had 98 scouts come to watch him in action during an England U-19 game. This interest in him is now likely to see him land up in the Bundesliga, rather than continue his career in his native country.
He has proven that age is not a determinant of how good a player can be, with the teenager making 29 starts for his club this season. Evidently, the Red Devils seem to have lost out on a talented centre-back that we could have utilised for our benefit in the future.
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However, what we need at the moment is someone with enough experience and quality under their belt to improve our rearguard and not a rising star like Edwards. The hunt for defensive reinforcements must not come to a standstill, despite the setback of supposedly losing out on the Posh star.
Varane and Maguire can use competition, especially the latter. An experienced centre-back who can pose a real danger to the Frenchman and Englishman’s position in our starting XI is perhaps something our fans would want going into the new season.
