Liverpool urged to secure Adam Wharton amidst midfield concerns
Phil Thompson has told Liverpool to stop hesitating and throw their weight behind a move for Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton – or risk walking into the new season short in the one area they can least afford it.
Midfield gap opens up
Curtis Jones’ imminent switch to Inter Milan has left a noticeable hole in Andoni Iraola’s squad. Once the deal is complete, Liverpool will start the 2026/27 campaign at St. James’ Park on Sunday with just three established central midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Szoboszlai was a standout last season, scooping the club’s men’s player of the year award. Mac Allister and Gravenberch, though, went backwards under Arne Slot, their influence fading as the season wore on. Now Iraola arrives with a high-octane style and a schedule packed with fixtures, but without the depth that style usually demands.
For Thompson, that’s a serious miscalculation.
Given the volume of games and the physical demands Iraola is known for, he believes heading into the season with only three senior central midfielders edges towards negligence from the club’s hierarchy.
Wharton back on the radar
Wharton has hovered around Liverpool’s rumour mill for some time. Manchester City recently tested the water, making an enquiry to Palace about the England international, but were quickly knocked back.
Palace want to keep him. Thompson thinks Liverpool should be trying to change their minds.
Speaking on the BOYLE Sports and Footy Accumulators podcast, “No Tippy Tappy Football”, the former Liverpool defender made his stance clear.
“Adam Wharton is a player that I would be interested in signing for Liverpool,” he said. “I can’t understand why nobody, in all this transfer merry-go-round, has picked him up this summer.
“He is one that you talk about in terms of having good character. At a football club, besides talent, you need people of good sort, and I've always looked at Wharton and thought he's a good character.
“I think he’s probably the next player Crystal Palace will have to sell, because they have to sell one a year for big money.”
At 22, Wharton fits the profile Liverpool have often targeted: young, Premier League-tested, and with resale value. Thompson’s view is that those attributes, plus his temperament, make him exactly the kind of midfielder Iraola could build around.
Iraola’s first steps, and a bigger shopping list
While the midfield picture looks light, Liverpool have not been idle. Iraola will take his new team to Newcastle with three fresh signings available: defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, and winger Victor Munoz. The long-running pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola also rumbles on.
The groundwork is there. Thompson insists it is nowhere near enough.
“Liverpool still need four, maybe five, players in different positions,” he said. “Defensively, certainly; maybe a midfield player and a wide player too, because you need two quality players for every position.
“We had a massive spend last season and everybody's saying, 'how can they do it?' You look at the investment we get into our football clubs, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. When you see them traveling the world, it shows that they're the two biggest football clubs in the world.”
The message is blunt. Liverpool have the financial muscle, the global pull and a manager whose style demands depth. With Jones heading out and the season about to start, the question now is whether the club matches that reality with action – and whether Adam Wharton becomes the next big piece of their midfield rebuild.
