Ronnie Edwards and Benjamin Arthur: Peterborough pair 'will play in Premier League'

Ronnie Edwards played against Uruguay at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina

Peterborough director of football Barry Fry believes that young defenders Ronnie Edwards and Benjamin Arthur will become Premier League players.

Edwards has been playing for England at the Under-20 World Cup, where they lost to Italy in the last 16.

Arthur, meanwhile, has been selected by England Under-18s for upcoming games against Norway, Australia and Portugal.

"Every club in the country, and worldwide really, will be watching these England games," said Fry.

"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," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

Edwards, 20, is already an established member of Peterborough's first team, making 44 appearances in 2022-23 and starting both legs of their League One play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday, which they lost on penalties after a 5-5 draw on aggregate.

Arthur, 17, is the only player from outside the top two divisions to be included in the squad for the Under-18 International Tournament of Lisbon, where England play their first game on Friday.

"This boy's a bit taller [than Edwards], he's very elegant, very cool, calm and collected," said Fry.

"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."