Why Adam Wharton transfer race could now be a straight shootout between Man Utd and Liverpool

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Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton is a wanted man, with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool showing interest.

TBR Football recently shared that Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Man Utd like Wharton and have been keeping tabs on the Englishman.

Palace would prefer to maintain his services, but they understand that keeping the midfielder is not a long-term option.

All four of the clubs mentioned would no doubt love to have the 21-year-old on their books, but it would not make sense for the player to join two of them.

Adam Wharton joining Chelsea or Manchester City doesn’t make sense

TBR Football revealed this week that Man City are confident of agreeing a new contract with Rodri before January.

The Spaniard’s current deal runs until 2027, so an extension will keep him as a mainstay in City’s midfield for many years.

Behind him, the Sky Blues have added 23-year-old Nico Gonzalez to their squad this year, and he’s been acting as the primary sitting midfielder while Rodri has been injured.

If Wharton were to sign for City, he’d likely be competing with both players for one spot, which isn’t an ideal situation for a player who needs to be playing regularly in order to keep developing.

It’s a similar story at Chelsea, who spent over £200m on Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo to form one of the most expensive midfield pivots in football.

Both Fernandez and Caicedo are tied down at Stamford Bridge until beyond 2030, and it seems unlikely another club would be willing to pay the required fees to sign them.

In turn, it looks like Chelsea will retain the South American pair for at least the next five years, which again begs the question: where does Wharton fit in?

The story at Liverpool and Manchester United is much different, however.

Curtis Jones has earned regular minutes at Anfield this season, but it’s fair to say that Wharton would be an upgrade.

Similarly, Paul Scholes has argued that Bruno Fernandes needs to change positions at Man Utd after Ruben Amorim decided to start playing him in a deeper role alongside Casemiro.

He’s performed fine in this area, but the addition of Wharton would allow Fernandes to once again be deployed in his preferred, more advanced number 10 role at Old Trafford.

The Crystal Palace midfielder should want regular game time if and when he leaves Selhurst Park, and right now, Liverpool and Manchester United look the best options.

The deciding factor in Adam Wharton signing for Liverpool or Manchester United

While both teams appear to be sensible moves for the Englishman in terms of playing time, there is another factor that must be taken into account.

Steve Parish has suggested that Wharton will want to play Champions League football at some point in his career.

He said: “I think Adam at some point will want to play either in the Champions League with us – if we can make that happen – or probably with another club.

“He’s an extraordinary talent. I think he’s very committed to the club. If Manchester United want Adam Wharton, there’s nothing really surprising about that.”

At present, neither club are in the Champions League places. Manchester United are one point outside the top four, while Liverpool are two adrift.

So, when it comes to who gets the chance to sign Wharton, it may simply be a case of whoever finishes inside the top four this season.