Liverpool are reportedly eyeing up Adam Wharton as their next big-money signing, as Arne Slot and co. look to challenge for the league title again after a disappointing first half to the 2025/26 season. Heading into the 2025 summer as champions, Liverpool opened up the wallet, signing the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike at considerable expense.
It didn’t exactly click at first for the Reds, with some teething issues having plagued the first part of the current campaign. However, it looks as if Slot is beginning to get a tune out of some of his high-profile signings, with Liverpool starting to trend in the right direction.
That doesn’t mean reinforcement won’t again be targeted come the summer, with Wharton being earmarked as a potential arrival. It’s suggested by the Daily Mail that the midfielder could be the next player to leave Crystal Palace, after the Eagles cashed in on Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi over the last six months.
Wharton is in a slightly different position, given his contract at Selhurst Park is set to run until the end of the 2028/29 season. That does give Palace a little more wiggle room, especially as far as landing a healthy transfer fee goes, with £80m being mooted as a roundabout figure for the 21-year-old.
It’s a considerable amount of money, but with it, Liverpool would be securing the services of one of the most promising midfielders in Europe and a player they could likely lean on for the next decade. And as far as the Palace hierarchy are concerned, they’re under no illusions that Wharton will likely leave in the near future, but there also isn’t pressure to sell.
Speaking earlier this season, chairman Steve Parish said: “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. 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… 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.”