Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has stated that Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth referred to one of the League One outfit’s current players as a ‘Rolls Royce’ during recent transfer conversations.
Ashworth was discussing the loan move of Newcastle United talent Kell Watts with Posh director of football Barry Fry when the conversation came up.
Speaking on his The Hard Truth podcast (Sep 6, 2022; 13m), Posh chairman MacAnthony said that Fry joked with Ashworth that he was surprised Newcastle were not interested in “our boy”. This is when Ashworth seemingly revealed he was well aware of the talent in question.
“Dan Ashworth said to Barry, ‘You’re talking about the Rolls Royce?’,” said MacAnthony.
“Dan said, ‘We know all about your boy, the reports at Brighton I got. He is a Rolls Royce of a centre-half. But, we, Newcastle, are looking at the attacking end of the pitch at the moment.
“But he said ‘Barry, absolute Rolls Royce. Every scout report that went into Brighton, unbelievable.’”
So who did Dan Ashworth refer to as a ‘Rolls Royce’?
It’s Ronnie Edwards. Sorry to immediately dispel any mystery, and with all due respect to Peterborough United’s other centre-halves, Edwards has been a player making moves for a while now.
He is the only player that seems to fit the bill and this snippet of the conversation was bookmarked by comments from MacAnthony specifically referencing Edwards.
Not only is Newcastle United’s sporting director clearly aware of his talents, and seemingly has been since his previous role at Brighton, but Edwards has been linked with a Premier League move throughout the summer. The Sun reported that Manchester United were keen earlier this year – while Chelsea, Crystal Palace and others have also been linked.
With good reason as well. Edwards, who played 38 times for Peterborough last season, played in the final of the UEFA U-19 Championships in July, as England defeated Israel to win the competition.
Could Newcastle United move for Ronnie Edwards?
While there were an abundance of clubs linked with Edwards this summer, Newcastle United’s name never came up. The Magpies made higher-profile defensive recruitment decisions – with Sven Botman arriving in the summer while Dan Burn was brought in during the winter.
Edwards ended up staying at London Road and will now be looking to help his side push for promotion back to the Championship. Chances are, once he has returned from a knee injury, he will do so alongside Newcastle United loanee Watts.
Then it will be interesting to see Ashworth’s clear appreciation turns into concrete interest.
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