Adam Wharton: Rising Star at Crystal Palace Amid Liverpool and City Interest
Manchester City and Liverpool are circling Adam Wharton – and the price is rising fast.
City have already thrown down one major midfield marker this window, paying £116 million ($158m) for Elliot Anderson. Now, with Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner Rodri gone to Barcelona, their gaze has turned towards Selhurst Park and a 22-year-old whose reputation has exploded over the past two-and-a-half seasons.
Wharton has quietly built a winner’s CV at Crystal Palace: FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League medals, all before his mid-20s. That kind of trajectory doesn’t stay under the radar for long, especially when you’re already part of the Three Lions conversation and thriving in the Premier League’s most scrutinised area of the pitch.
City’s interest is real enough for his name to be “on the radar”. Yet whenever Wharton’s future comes up, Liverpool are never far from the conversation. The Reds have been tracking his development and, if Palace open the door to a sale, they are expected to be right in the thick of any bidding war.
Someone who knows both clubs – and that position – as well as anyone is Ray Houghton. The former Liverpool and Crystal Palace midfielder understands why Wharton is turning heads on Merseyside.
“I listen to people who I've played with and who've got a good eye for midfielders. I know Jan Molby, he's a big fan of Adam,” Houghton told GOAL, speaking via Football Betting. “He spoke about him highly on numerous occasions and I trust Jan's judgment. He knows the game, he knows the position. He feels that there's a real player in there that can do well.”
Houghton has seen the person behind the player too. He recalled meeting Wharton after Palace’s win at Anfield last season.
“I spoke to Adam, actually, when they [Palace] beat Liverpool last season. I was at the game and after the match I was talking to Mark Bright and Adam came out. He’s a really down-to-earth lad, really, really lovely kid. It was a joy to speak to him and just listen to him and he just wants to be the best that he can.
“He's got a great attitude. If anyone was to ask me, what do you think of Adam Wharton, I'd say great attitude. He wants to be successful. He's got all the ingredients there for being a top player.”
That blend of mentality and talent is exactly what drives fees into the stratosphere. Palace paid just £18m ($25m) to bring Wharton in from Blackburn. Now, they are braced to demand at least four times that. The full package, with add-ons, could nudge towards nine figures if the market catches fire.
Inside Selhurst Park, there is a growing concern: how many more sales can they absorb before the foundations start to shake? Houghton voiced the fear.
“At the minute, the only worry with Palace is they can't keep selling players. [Marc] Guehi went and now [Maxence] Lacroix's gone and they're moving players around. To have any modicum of success, you can't keep doing that. You look at what they've won, three trophies they've been involved in. One thing you don't want to do is keep changing players.”
The reality is brutal. Big clubs come calling, and players listen.
“If a club like Liverpool comes knocking for you, you're going to be tempted, aren't you? Simple as that if you're Adam Wharton,” Houghton said. “It's just whether he's the right fit for the manager and that's what it'll come down to. At the moment, I still think Liverpool need a few additions before they really get going.”
Liverpool’s need for extra quality in midfield is no secret. City, stripped of Rodri, are hunting for a new heartbeat. Palace, meanwhile, are trying to compete while being picked at by the elite. Somewhere in the middle of all that sits Wharton – contracted, settled, but increasingly coveted.
Former Palace striker Clinton Morrison has already laid out what it will take to drag him away from south London.
“Yeah, £60m, £70m - if someone wants to pay £80m, I think they’d bite your hand off. But yeah, definitely at least £60-70 million,” Morrison told GOAL. “If you look at how young he is and the talent he’s got, and the clubs that will be knocking on the door for him, then Palace are right to say £60-70 million. It’s good money for another player they’ve developed. He’s a top player.
“But yeah, he’s got all the attributes and there will come a time where he needs to go to one of the top four or five teams, or maybe go and play in Europe, because you need to keep improving yourself as a player.”
That time may be arriving. City have a Rodri-sized hole. Liverpool still feel one or two pieces short. Palace have a prize asset whose value has never been higher.
The question now is not whether Adam Wharton is ready for that step – it’s which giant is willing to pay the price to find out.
