Ronnie Edwards: Highly-rated Peterborough defender on transfer speculation

He is one of the best young defenders in English football - and few expected Ronnie Edwards to still be playing for Peterborough United this season.

Both manager Darren Ferguson and chairman Darragh MacAnthony believed he would be sold over the summer.

Several clubs, including two from the Premier League, were linked with the 20-year-old, but a deal could not be agreed before the transfer deadline.

"I think everything happens for a reason. It was clearly time for me to stay still," Essex-born Edwards told BBC Look East.

"I just have to be the best version of myself and improve. When my time comes, my time comes."

For now, Edwards is concentrating on helping Posh further their ambition of returning to the Championship, having gone agonisingly close to a place in the League One play-off final last season.

They led 4-0 following the home leg against Sheffield Wednesday, only to lose 5-1 in the return game and then bow out in a penalty shoot-out.

Edwards is still using the heartbreak of that night as one of his main motivations as he prepares for Saturday's derby against Cambridge United at the Weston Homes Stadium.

"It hurt but everything happens for a reason," he said. "That day wasn't our day. There are times when we will think about it. It was tough, the boys didn't have the best of summers. But two months later and we go again.

"It's a new team, a new set of players, we are doing well."

Edwards has been an ever-present in fourth-placed Peterborough's league team so far this season, playing all 16 games, plus three more in cup competitions.

It has followed a busy summer during which he played for England at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, where they lost to Italy at the last 16 stage.

Peterborough director of football Barry Fry said at the time that playing in major international events would raise Edwards' profile and he had no doubt he will one day play in the Premier League.

"We've had several bids for Ronnie Edwards that we've turned down, but he will go eventually because he's class," he added.

Ronnie Edwards has played 10 games for England's under-20 team

Edwards began his career at Barnet and made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old substitute against Maidenhead in 2019.

The Peterborough talent-spotting network wasted no time in identifying his potential and he was snapped up in the summer of 2020 and played his first game in a 3-3 draw with Bolton in the EFL Trophy that September.

Despite the club's promotion goal, he is still expected to leave in January in what would be the latest chapter in a whirlwind start to a career in which there has been precious little time for rest and relaxation because of international duty.

One major highlight so far was winning the European Championships with England Under-19s in July 2022.

He was a key member of the team, coached by Ian Foster, that beat Israel 3-1 after extra-time in the final.

Edwards said: "The best thing about playing for England is the culture, wearing the badge, knowing that you're representing your country as one of the best in that position. It's been a privilege and nice to be recognised.

''I was training well, playing well for Peterborough, then I got called up for England. Gareth Southgate and some of the senior England players came and spoke with us. We were so nervous in that final."

As a child, Edwards played for a Sunday league team in Harlow from the age of six and soon attracted the attention of a lot of scouts.

"I started playing under-6s, then under-8s, in Essex. I just remember charging round the football pitch with a smile on my face. We were just always winning," he said.

He later played for his senior school, Passmores Academy, who reached the final of a national cup competition.

"I had a free-kick and scored in injury time," Edwards recalled. "All the school was watching, the schoolteachers were jumping up and down hugging each other when I scored. I was going nuts. I loved it."

As with many sport-inclined children, his parents were a huge influence in those early days.

"My parents have been massive. They never missed training. My dad switched his meetings when I was training to make sure I was there," he said.

"I nearly gave it all up (once). I was in the car coming back from training. I got bombed off the squad. I was confused, I was crying in the car. My old man says 'you've just got to keep going. it's about how you overcome that'.

"It now means everything, and I'm so grateful for those early days.

"There's definitely more to life than football. Family, friends, having your downtime. But I've been given an opportunity. To give it my best shot and live life with no regrets."