Andoni Iraola reportedly dreams of signing Manchester United target and Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton at Liverpool, as per the Mirror.
Following Curtis Jones’ move to Inter Milan, the Reds currently have Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai as deeper midfield options.
However, Endo struggled to find regular game time over the past two seasons, while Mac Allister has been linked with a move away in this window.
Now, the Mirror report that Iraola dreams of signing Wharton as a potential replacement for Jones, with Liverpool linked with a move for him in recent times.
But Crystal Palace don’t want to part ways with him and have slapped a £78m price tag on his head to keep the vultures away, with his existing deal set to run until 2029.
The report state that Man Utd, Real Madrid and Chelsea are also interested in him. However, United have already purchased Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while Carlos Baleba is close to moving to Old Trafford this summer.
So, it is highly unlikely that Michael Carrick’s side would make a move for Wharton as well. But David Ornstein has reported that Manchester City have enquired about the details of signing the 22-year-old, having recently parted ways with Tijjani Reijnders.
Wharton to Liverpool
Wharton is a technically gifted versatile midfielder. He is comfortable in the deep-lying playmaker and box-to-box roles. He is a press-resistant midfielder and can play threading passes between the lines.
Moreover, he is efficient at taking set-pieces and is solid in defensive contributions. Wharton has shown glimpses of his qualities at Selhurst Park since joining from Blackburn Rovers, helping his side win the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League titles.
Wharton is a Premier League-proven player and hasn’t reached his prime yet. Therefore, he would be a shrewd acquisition for Liverpool should they purchase him.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the Merseyside club can eventually manage to lure him to Anfield before the September 1st transfer deadline day.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to start the new Premier League campaign against Newcastle United at St James’ Park this weekend.
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