Manchester United have been left as the sole suitors for Adam Wharton in January after Real Madrid withdrew from the race for a somewhat surprising reason – and TEAMtalk has assessed the chances of Ruben Amorim landing his top target when the transfer window re-opens in just 75 days.
The Red Devils are in desperate need of a new midfielder after, somewhat questionably, deciding not to sign one in the summer window. Instead, Amorim and Co. went all out on strengthening their attack, with over £200m spent on bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.
Brought in as perfect candidates for Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation and to pep up an attack that lacked ideas and imagination last season, the results, so far, for Manchester United, remain mixed. And going into Sunday’s clash against Liverpool at Anfield, Amorim remains a manager with a lot of pressure piled on his shoulders.
With the January window due to open for business just 75 days from now, United’s transfer committee of Amorim, sporting director Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, are putting their focus into the next phase of their rebuilding.
And according to our transfer insider, Dean Jones, United want to sign two new midfielders in 2026 – one in January and one next summer.
With Fraser Fletcher also revealing how sources have told him that Wharton is now right at the top of that wishlist and is “loved” by United, talk of a January approach from the Red Devils has started to gather pace.
Those hopes have now escalated after reports in the Spanish media revealed that Real Madrid – seen as the chief competitors for the 21-year-old’s signature – decided to pull out of the transfer race, citing his asking price as being too high and with the midfielder, valued at £70m-plus, overpriced.
‘The £60 million to be offered by Manchester United for Adam Wharton is seen as an exorbitant figure that Real Madrid have no intention of matching,’ Madrid-centric, E-noticies, writes.
“Florentino Perez believes the price far exceeds Wharton’s true market value. As a result, Los Blancos have withdrawn from the race, leaving the path clear for the Red Devils to complete the deal.”
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Sources rate chances of Man Utd signing Wharton in January
With a deal for the previous top target, Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, due to cost £100m in January, United have been forced to look at alternatives, with Fletcher naming Wharton, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham as possible options.
However, prising the former Blackburn midfielder away from Selhurst Park mid-season won’t come cheap.
Palace, buoyed by Wharton’s form in their push for European spots, would demand at least £70million – a hefty fee which has clearly already scared off Real.
United’s interest is genuine, but negotiations could hinge on offloading fringe players to fund the move. To that end, the likes of Joshua Zirkzee and, potentially, if a midfielder signs, Kobbie Mainoo on a loan deal.
Chelsea hold strong interest in Wharton, but TEAMtalk revealed on Monday that United are deadly serious about hijacking any Blues move.
Wharton is one of three Eagles stars attracting attention ahead of the January window, with Marc Guehi also in high demand and with full-back Daniel Munoz attracting interest from a top LaLiga side.
“I don’t expect any of them to leave in January,” Jones insisted, however. “It would take a very bold offer to tempt any of the three away at that stage.
“It makes more sense for Guehi to wait it out until summer and make his free agent move than to be sold in the winter.
“Wharton is not going to leave halfway through the season, and I don’t think interest in Munoz is clear enough to take seriously at this point. But of course, there is still time for that to change.
“Palace tend to communicate well with players that could leave the club, and so if anything starts to open up, I expect some very clear understanding to be outlined.”
Indeed, as Jones explains in the video below, United will likely need to go a lot higher than £60m or £70m to convince the Eagles to sell mid-season.
Man Utd latest: Former midfielder eyed; Real Madrid striker linked
Meanwhile, surprise reports this weekend have also suggested United are strongly considering a move to bring James Garner back to Old Trafford, with the Everton star’s current deal due to expire next summer.
However, sources have explained why the Red Devils face an uphill task in bringing back the 24-year-old Birkenhead-born star.
Elsewhere, United are one of eight clubs keen on signing a top Brazilian star from Real Madrid in the January transfer window, according to a report, as TEAMtalk reveals the chances of the striker leaving the Santiago Bernabeu for Old Trafford in the middle of the season.
United’s plans for a new centre-forward rest entirely on efforts to offload an unhappy star who has drifted way down the pecking order under Amorim, and with the £36.5m signing likely to end his troubled 18-month spell at the club in January.