Manchester United have supposedly been dealt a ‘double blow’ regarding Adam Wharton and Oliver Glanser, but it’s actually only one ‘blow’…
Crystal Palace are earning admiring glances from many clubs in Europe, includingManchester United, for their sensational rise under Glasner.
The 2024/25 FA Cup winners have gone from strength to strength this season despite losing Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in recent windows, with Glasner’s side sitting sixth in the Premier League after seven games.
However, problems lie ahead for Crystal Palace, who are at risk of losing more key assets in 2026.
Marc Guehi’s exit upon the expiry of his contract in 2026 already feels certain amid interest from Liverpool and teams across Europe, while they also face a fight to keep Wharton and Glasner.
READ: Liverpool show ‘it’s not hard’ to make Ruben Amorim and his 3-5-2 work for Man United
Unsurprisingly, Man Utd have been thrown in the hat for Wharton and Glasner, though Palace chief Steve Parish has moved to reassure supporters that their futures could lie with the London club.
The Sun have sold this as a ‘double blow’ for Man Utd and I’m about to explain why that is a bit of a stretch…
Firstly, they have a fair point on Wharton as he “will want to play in the Champions League”, thus making a move to rivals Liverpool far more likely at this stage.
“Look, I think Adam at some point will want to play, either in the Champions League with us, if we could make that happen, or probably with another club,” Parish said.
“He’s an extraordinary talent. I think right now, and I can’t speak for Adam, but I think he’s focused on his time at Crystal Palace.“
“He had a broken season last season with the groin issues that he had, which a lot of young players get. This season he’s completely focused on putting the games in, getting in the England squad, being a regular for us. I think he’s very committed to the club.
“I mean, if Manchester United want Adam Wharton, that’s nothing surprising really. The fact of the matter is he’s got a long contract to run. There’s no pressure on us to do it and I don’t think there’s any real pressure from the player either.”
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The other supposed ‘blow’ for Man Utd is that Parish and Glasner have held talks over a new contract.
“We would love to keep Oliver. We’re building something. I think for Oliver, it’s about the conditions being right,” Parish added on “early conversations” with Glasner.
“It’s about everything being in a way that he enjoys his work, and he finds the conditions favourable to achieve.
“Oliver wants to win things. He makes no secret of that. He’s in football for those days where we give all that pleasure to the fans. And we do as well.
“So, if we can align those interests, then hopefully we can make something happen.”
In reality, these “conversations” mean very little as they certainly do not mean that Glasner will sign a contract extension at Palace beyond next summer.
Glasner “wants to win things” and as good as Palace have been over the past couple of years, he will look elsewhere to give himself a far greater chance of achieving that goal.
It has also been reported that Glasner is “set” on the Man Utd job as Ruben Amorim remains one of the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
Should Glasner join Man Utd? Probably not, as there are other elite opportunities available as safer bets for the Palace boss.
But football managers are nothing if not egotistical, and Glasner, who is riding the crest of a wave at Palace, would back himself to be the one to fix Man Utd, who proved in the summer that they can still attract their top targets to Old Trafford despite their prolonged period of misery.