BOURNEMOUTH are ready to battle Crystal Palace to sign Peterborough centre-back Ronnie Edwards.
The Eagles had a £7.5m bid for the England Under-20 international turned down last summer and are set to go back for him again in the coming months.
But Bournemouth are keen on Edwards, too, while Newcastle and Tottenham have also kept an eye on developments.
Edwards, 20, was a key player in Peterborough’s run to the League One play-off semi-finals and then played every minute of England’s Under-20 World Cup campaign in Argentina.
Posh wanted more than £10m for the former Barnet trainee last year.
Failure to gain promotion back to the Championship may put them under more financial pressure.
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But director of football Barry Fry is renowned for driving a hard bargain and Palace will have to offer more than before to beat off competition.
The Eagles could be in need of at least one new centre-back, with Newcastle interested in Joachim Andersen and Tottenham among the clubs considering a move for Marc Guehi.
Posh turned down multiple bids for Edwards, who chairman Fry reckons has what it takes to play in the top flight.
He told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: “Every club in the country, and worldwide really, will be watching these England games.
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“It puts values on the players’ heads. We’ve had several bids for Ronnie Edwards that we’ve turned down, but he will go eventually because he’s class.
“Benjamin Arthur is the same. He’s three years younger but he’s going to be just as good, if not better.
“Arthur is a bit taller, he’s very elegant, very cool, calm and collected.
“They’re both going to be great players and they’re both going to go into a Premier League side when the time is ready, no doubt about that whatsoever.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
