Playmaker's EFL 72: #38 Ronnie Edwards

Playmaker's countdown of the EFL's best players this season has shimmied into its thirties - where things really begin hotting up.

It's certainly been no easy task, but - just to clarify - our '72' is less a roll call of the best footballers in the EFL and more a tribute to those players who have enjoyed the most memorable seasons while racking up the most impressive stats.

Whatever the criteria, we're confident in our selections of the most outstanding players through the Championship, League One, and League Two and welcome any debate on the subject!

We continue to move through our ’72 of the 72’ by shining a much-deserved light on key Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards - League One's Young Player of the Season. 

Number 38: Ronnie Edwards (Peterborough United)

The England U20 international, who was a part of the Young Lions side that won the UEFA European Under-19 Championships in Slovakia in 2022, has been tipped for the top for a few years now and is reportedly attracting Premier League interest from Crystal Palace and West Ham United. 

Edwards, like a few Peterborough players, arrived from Barnet a few years ago and has already clocked up 140 professional appearances for Posh across all competitions at the tender age of just 21. 

Excellent and progressive on the ball for an exciting and attacking Posh side, Edwards averages the most passes per game of any player in the third-tier with 92 per game, 17 more than any other player. Notably, Edwards has pinged more accurate long balls (303) than any outfield player in the division. 

Remarkably, such quantity has been inextricably linked to quality: Edwards also with the best pass success rate of anyone in League One with 92%.

Been reading several recent linking several PL clubs to Ronnie Edwards, an outstanding talent.

A ball playing CCB’s at league one level, goes to show there are hidden gems in the EFL.

The only thing that counts against him is his size 5’10. 🙃pic.twitter.com/iYv1CEzN2m

— Gilles 🇳🇬🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@_Grimanditweets) January 13, 2024

The young prospect's staggering passing stats are supported with a raft of numbers that show he can defend too - Edwards topping the charts for Posh for clearances (182) and blocks (34) per game this term, as well as ranking third for interceptions and tackles respectively. 

@Getty /

Instrumental in helping Peterborough win the EFL Trophy at Wembley Stadium earlier this month, Edwards has only missed a solitary League One game all season and he will be hoping to banish Posh's play-off demons from last season (when they incredibly lost to Sheffield Wednesday) this time around.  

Regardless of whether or not Darren Ferguson’s side do propel themselves into the second-tier, there is an expectation that Edwards will be playing at a higher level next season - his recognition as League One's Young Player of the Season possibly adding a couple of zeroes to his price tag! 

Playmaker's EFL 72...the countdown

39: Josh Sargent 40: Alex Gilbey 41: Ben Sheaf

42: Jobe Bellingham 43: Devante Cole 44: Jacob Greaves 45: Paddy Lane

46: Herbie Kane 47: Dan James 48: Archie Collins 49: Karamoko Dembele

50: Haji Wright 51: Dan Crowley 52: Cameron Brannagan 53: Aaron Collins

54: Andy Cook 55: Connor Shaughnessy 56: Jannik Vestergaard

57: Willy Gnonto 58: Ellis Simms 59: Charlie Hughes 60: Fatawu Isshaku

61: Sam Hoskins 62: Paul Mullin 63: Chris Martin 64: Omari Hutchinson

65: Isaac Hutchinson 66: Sam Tickle 67: Ben Hinchcliffe 68: Michał Helik

69: Lewis Wing 70: Rob Apter 71: Kyle Walker-Peters 72: Alex Palmer

4⃣7⃣/7⃣2⃣

🤍 One part of @LUFC's electric attacking lineup, our next entry in the #Playmaker72 has 13⚽ and 7🅰 so far this season.

💥 Enjoying his best league campaign to date, we have @Daniel_James_97!https://t.co/GrFs0cniCA#LUFC pic.twitter.com/7676kMDKxx

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) April 18, 2024