Vieira lines up £15m Posh defender
CRYSTAL PALACE boss Patrick Vieira is already planning for the next stage of the rebuild of his squad and will battle it out with Tottenham for Ronnie Edwards, Peterborough’s £15million-rated England under-19 defender.
Palace have won plaudits this season for their emerging talents such as young England internationals Marc Guehi, Conor Gallagher and Tyrick Mitchell.
Centre-back Edwards, 19 last month, has been a regular in The Championship as well as impressing against Manchester City in the FA Cup. Spurs are also taking note of Edwards, but Palace hope Vieira’s record in giving young players a chance gives them an advantage.
Palace see Edwards as a big part of their future at the back with Guehi and Joachim Andersen, who will face Chelsea in today’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Guehi goes into the game wanting to make amends for the ‘horrible experience’ he suffered in his last club appearance at Wembley.
Guehi was part of the Swansea team beaten by Brentford in the Championship play off final at the national stadium 11 months ago.
Guehi, 21, who had been on Chelsea’s books until his permanent transfer last summer, has thrived under Vieira and has been instrumental in helping the Eagles reach the last four of the Cup.
Of that play-off final defeat, Guehi said, ‘It was a horrible experience but an invaluable one to learn from those big moments. They can only help you and make you stronger in your career.’
And Vieira, who won the FA Cup four times as a player with Arsenal, has warned his young side not to think Chelsea will be mentally or physically shot after their Champions League extra time exit to Real Madrid in midweek.
‘They are not going to have any kind of mental questioning about turning up or not,’ Vieira said of his London rivals.
‘If we are thinking that mentally they will be disappointed about the Madrid game, that is the biggest mistake we can make.
‘Those clubs, those players they aim to win something every year and of course the FA Cup is what’s left on the table and they will do the maximum to try to win it.’