Who’s on Rangers Radar: Ronnie Edwards

According to BBC Sports writer Alex Howell Rangers are interested in Peterborough centre back Ronnie Edwards. The 20-year-old was a regular for the English League One side last season and was set to be a key player for this campaign.

He played four matches at the U20 World Cup for England and impressed on that stage. Alongside Rangers, EPL sides West Ham and Bournemouth are supposedly interested.

No fee has been quoted yet but Peterborough value him very highly.

Getting this one over the line may require a fee higher than what was paid for Danilo. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next couple of weeks.

The Numbers

With the new season still in its infancy, let’s take a look at his numbers from last season;

• 40 Appearances
• 85% Pass Accuracy
• 46% Long Pass Accuracy (3.8 per game)
• 14 Clean Sheets
• 1.4 Interceptions Per Game
• 2 Tackles Per Game
• 73% Ground Duels Won (2.6 per game)
• 51% Aerial Duels Won (1.4 per game)

Impressive numbers from the 20-year-old. He’s not only solid defensively but is also more than capable of bringing the ball out and making an accurate pass.

For reference to how impressive his tackle numbers are, Connor Goldson averaged Rangers highest at 1.5 per game. Ronnie Edwards averaged half a tackle a game more, alongside that incredible ground duels success rate.

Issues With This Deal

He’s a player with huge potential and very highly thought of in the England camp. This means he’ll command a hefty fee. Just last year Peterborough were reportedly asking for £8m up front rising to £15m with add ons. There were also suggestions that the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs were after him last summer.

The list of teams interested in Ronnie Edwards is long and that has the potential to sky rocket his price. Rangers have a good product to sell with guaranteed Europa League football at a minimum plus a chance to stop our closest rivals getting closer in the trophy count.

That being said, when it comes to the transfer fee and wages, we simply cannot compete with these EPL sides and their plethora of cash. His next move all comes down to the players ambitions. Does he want to play in Europe or just get to the EPL as soon as possible?

Conclusion

This is the first link to a centre back that has genuinely excited me. He’d be expensive but he’s a player with massive potential. The only thing that may disappoint fans is the fact that he’s right footed.

Fans have been crying out for a left footed left centre back and that wouldn’t be Edwards. For everything else you get with him though, I think he would be worth it.

Plenty of domestic experience and high level youth international experience. He’ll come in ready to go straight away.

Is this a link which excites you? Would you like to see Rangers go all in on Ronnie Edwards? Or does the next CB need to be a left footer in your eyes?

ICYMI read yesterdays piece on the importance of Todd Cantwell here.