The lowdown on Ronnie Edwards to Crystal Palace, and Jonson Clarke-Harris to Gillingham

Palace tried to sign Edwards two years ago when Patrick Vieira was the manager and Posh were in the Championship.

The reported asking price then was £15 million inclusive of add ons and sell ons, but Posh won’t be getting that much now they are in League One.

The Sun newspaper reported earlier this week Posh were chasing a £10 million package similar to the one they received from Brentford for Ivan Toney in 2020, but again that might be optimistic.

What is clear from both chairman Darragh MacAnthony, on his ‘Hard Truth,’ podcast and Barry Fry, on the other end of a telephone, is Posh will try and make a five-month loan back part of any deal. They have rightly realised the England Under 20 skipper, who has been outstanding this season, is irreplaceable.

The expected fee has not been made public, but Fry told the PT the clubs are some way apart on the fee, the payment schedule, the sell on percentage and the add ons!

Edwards might fancy a return to London having moved to Posh from Barnet in August, 2020 and has already made 112 appearances for Posh. Palace, who are now managed by Roy Hodgson, do have a recent history of giving young defenders a chance.

Barnet are guaranteed 50% of any Edwards transfer fee. Posh agreed the attractive sell-on in exchange for no initial transfer fee as clubs were struggling financially because of Covid at the time.

Other top-flight clubs are circling Edwards – a dozen or so according to Fry – but they have yet to make what Posh consider an acceptable offer. They’ve offered ‘Micky Mouse’ money said Fry.

West Ham were believed to be the most persistent pursuers of Edwards in the summer, but baulked at the asking price. MacAnthony admitted he felt he had ‘let Edwards down’ when he failed to agree a deal with an unnamed Championship club who started bidding late on the last transfer deadline day.

Edwards has 18 months of his current Posh deal to run and his commitment to his current club has been obvious all season. He’s no Siriki Dembele in terms of his behaviour. He’s not been pushing for a move, although he has new agents who have been active on his behalf.

Ideally Posh want him to stay until the end of the season, but they also don’t want to stand in the way of a player who has been a model professional at the club.

Jonson Clarke-Harris is another model pro at Posh and Charlton remain keen on signing him, although their last bid of £450k was rejected by Posh.

Fleetwood’s interest in the 29 year-old has waned since manager Lee Johnson departed last month.

Wrexham were linked with a move for Clarke-Harris in the Sun this week and MacAnthony admitted a League Two club have shown an interest in a double Golden Boot winner, but Fry revealed that club was Gillingham, much to the amusement and disbelief of the Kent club’s fans on social media.

The Gills need a goalscorer as they have managed a paltry 21 goals in 25 League Two games this season.

All the League One and Posh transfer news can be found on the PT transfer window blog, including a bid from a Championship club for Posh left-back Harrison Burrows.

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