Southampton are showing no signs of slowing down their summer recruitment as they have now been linked with a move for £10 million defender.
Russell Martin has already seen centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ loan move made permanent for £20 million following promotion as per the terms of his deal from Manchester City.
36-year-old Adam Lallana’s signing as a free agent has also been confirmed, with the midfielder’s experience key to his return to his first club.
Now, it appears Martin is keen to add further depth to his defensive options at Southampton with a move for a young League One defender.
Southampton have ‘held talks’ with Ronnie Edwards
Martin looks keen for Southampton to get their summer business done early ahead of the club’s top flight return.
Much of this owes to his style of play taking time to learn and adapt to, so getting players in as close to the start of pre-season as possible is key for the Saints boss.
It now looks as though the Southampton hierarchy are acting on that, with talks taking place with Peterborough United over the signing of Ronnie Edwards.
That is according to talkSPORT chief football correspondent Alex Crook, who posted on ‘X’: ‘Understand #SaintsFC are interested in signing Peterborough defender Ronnie Edwards.’
This was followed up by a report on talkSPORT’s website that confirms discussions are taking place and claims Peterborough are ‘willing to sell’ Edwards if their valuation ‘believed to be in excess of £10 million’ is met after they suffered defeat in the League One play-off semi-final.
Southampton target Edwards a ‘Rolls Royce’ of a defender
Despite being just 21, Edwards has racked up an impressive 142 appearances for Peterborough.
That is vital experience for a central defender, with players in the position usually breaking into senior football later than their peers in other roles.
Edwards is an incredibly cultured footballer who is supremely confident with the ball at his feet but can do the ugly side of the game too having developed through his time in the second and third tier.
Peterborough owner Barry Fry believes he has a real talent at the club and was full of praise for the then-18-year-old in 2021, saying: “Ronnie is a Rolls Royce. We knew that when we signed him.
“It’s no secret how highly Ronnie is rated by other clubs and by the England set up. We had 18 Premier League scouts watching him play for the under 23s at our stadium.”
Having won Posh’s Player of the Season in 2022/23 despite their Championship relegation, Edwards looks destined for the Premier League and Southampton are trying to ensure he achieves that at St Mary’s.