Liverpool should be targeting Peterborough United centre-back Ronnie Edwards as a new signing.
That’s the view of the club’s chairman Darragh MacAnthony. Speaking to theposh.com, MacAnthony, who’s a Liverpool fan, claimed that 20-year-old Edwards was destined for the top.
“You saw what I saw against Leicester [in this week’s pre-season friendly]. I’m amazed,” said the chairman. “We all are. It’s not we are being greedy or silly. I think sometimes it’s that we are a League One club or whatever. I know we like to go OTT, but he [Edwards] is as good as we have ever seen in that position for us. If he’s with us, he’s with us – even better.
“But I don’t think he will be and I think a lot of Prem clubs are big clubs, when they buy that young player, they do their business first and then they come in for the young player.
“But what a talent. We are all just sat there at the Leicester game going ‘wow’. If I went to a pre-season game and saw a player like him playing for another club, me and Barry [Fry] would do a deal at half time and have him in the boot of our car! That’s how good he was against Leicester, I don’t think he misplaced a pass, missed a tackle. This is against the first-team of Leicester, who are a Premier League squad by the way, yes they are in the Champ but phenomenal.
“That winds me up by the way, that Liverpool haven’t bought him yet because he’s just made for some of the teams in the Prem.”
MacAnthony talks up Edwards
As Liverpool search for a new centre-back this summer, Edwards’ name hasn’t come up.
With the Reds in need of a good level back-up for Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk et all, MacAnthony is right: they’re shopping at a higher level.
But if they do fancy a bit of a project, why not have a look at the Peterborough man? He’s incredibly highly-rated. An England U20 international, Edwards does look destined for the Premier League.
In the end, the Reds have missed out on both players. But, truthfully, it’s unlikely they’ll lose too much sleep over Rice in particular.
He would have been an incredible replacement for the outgoing Fabinho, that’s true. However, signing the England man would have obliterated their whole budget.
Bellingham was eventually deemed too expensive, and had probably chosen Real Madrid anyway. But Rice has ended up costing even more than the 20-year-old. Given the rebuild needed at Anfield, it just wasn’t feasible.
Of course, they could end up regretting their decisions this summer. Liverpool needed midfielders and these were two of the very best on the market this summer. Anyway, there’s no use crying over spilled Rice milk.
