Crystal Palace are trying to sign Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards, according to The Daily Mail's Joe Bernstein. 

The lowdown

Edwards is a 19-year-old centre-back who's enjoyed a breakthrough season with Peterborough.

Having only made five appearances in 2020/21, he's now a regular at London Road, with 10 starts in the last 11 league matches.

The Englishman still has more than three years to run on his contract with The Posh and is reportedly valued at £15million.

That would make him Peterborough's record departure, ahead of the likes of Britt Assombalonga (£6.2million), Ivan Toney (£5million) and Dwight Gayle (£4.8million).

Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen have established themselves as the first-choice centre-back pairing at the club this season following their summer arrivals, playing 36 and 32 games respectively.

The latest

Vieira sees the prospective signing of Edwards as part of the next stage of the rebuild at Selhurst Park.

They envision him as a 'big part of their future', along with 21-year-old Guehi and 25-year-old Andersen.

Palace are to set to battle his fellow admirers Tottenham Hotspur, but their hope is that Vieira's 'record in giving young players a chance' appeals to Edwards.

The verdict

Palace remain one of the older sides in the Premier League when it comes to average age. At an average age of 26.9, they rank 15th in the Premier League, some way short of Arsenal's benchmark (24.3).

However, this is a marked improvement from last season, when they sat at the bottom of this particular table under Roy Hodgson on 28.8.

Vieira, then, looked to reenergise his team with young talent, and if this report is anything to go by, he'll be continuing those efforts this summer.

Edwards would be another exciting addition. Peterborough chairman Barry Fry has dubbed him a 'Rolls Royce' and is certain he'll enjoy an 'outstanding' career, while Sir Alex Ferguson has apparently urged Manchester United to sign him.

In other news, Palace have also been linked with this Brentford star.