In the aftermath of a shock 1-0 defeat to sixth-tier side Peterborough Sports, Posh manager Darren Ferguson outlined the club’s transfer plans for the remainder of the window.
At the weekend, Peterborough United lost central defender Frankie Kent who made the switch to Hearts in Scotland, signing a three-year deal with the cinch Premiership side for an undisclosed fee.
However, Kent may not be the only centre-back walking out the door this summer as Ferguson himself has admitted that he expects one of Ronnie Edwards or Josh Knight to be sold.
Speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, the former Doncaster Rovers boss stated [via BBC Sport]:
“At the moment, I’ve got four centre-halves still in the building. We know there’ll be bids for Ronnie, you would have thought, and Josh Knight is on the transfer list and until one of them goes, no one will be coming in.
“We’ve got enough bodies in that position but if one more senior centre-half went out, which would be Ronnie or Knighty, we would look to bring one in.”
A change in transfer policy
Ferguson also admitted his plans to rejuvenate the squad by bringing in younger players and replacing more experienced heads in the team.
Furthermore, the experienced coach claimed that the club already have potential targets ready in case key members of the squad leave, including last season’s top goalscorer Jonson Clarke Harris.
The Posh head coach continued:
“We put a lot (of players) on the list at the end of the season, we are changing things, we want to go a lot younger, which we will be.
“A lot of players have gone who were here for quite a while, who were great servants for the club.
“In terms of some of our better players possibly leaving, then we’ll replace them. If Jono [Clarke-Harris] goes, we’ll have to replace him.
“We’re not going to wait until they go out the door. We’ll have targets in place and then you just have to hope that you can get them.”
Writer’s View
It is likely that Ronnie Edwards will leave the club. Perhaps if Peterborough United earned promotion last season to the Championship, the young centre-back may have stayed but with big sharks circling, it will be too difficult to retain his services.
In fact, Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony recently cited his disbelief in how few offers have been put in for the England U20s international.
Speaking to posh.com, MacAnthony said [via the Liverpool Echo]:
“I’m amazed. 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.”
Replacing Edwards will be of utmost importance for Ferguson and his coaching staff should the young defender part ways this summer.
Having already lost Kent and now facing the strong possibility of waving goodbye to Edwards too, Peterborough United will have lost serious quality in the heart of the defence, something that may be incredibly difficult to replace before Posh take on Reading in the first game of the season.
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