Manchester City have reportedly earmarked Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton as an ideal signing but will have to fend off competition from Liverpool to land the 20-year-old.
Former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Wharton took no time at all to acclimatise to life in the Premier League earlier this year, having joined Oliver Glasner's side in an £18m switch from Ewood Park.
Wharton set up three goals in 16 Premier League matches in his first half-season at Selhurst Park, form which surprisingly earned him a place in Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 England squad, although he did not play any minutes in Germany.
Nevertheless, Wharton was hailed as one of the success stories of the January transfer window, as the 2004-born midfielder played an integral role in Palace's stunning end-of-season surge.
The 20-year-old has also started all three of Palace's Premier League matches so far this season, but Glasner's men have taken just one point from a possible nine to sit 16th in the embryonic table.
Man City, Liverpool to battle for Wharton in 2025?
While it is still very early on in the 2024-25 season, Palace will no doubt run the risk of losing Wharton to a European-chasing team should Glasner fail to pull them out of their rut in the coming weeks and months.
According to Football Insider, both Liverpool and Man City have taken a liking to Wharton and could battle for his services in 2025, but he will not join either club on the cheap.
The midfielder is still under contract at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2029, and Palace are well-positioned to make a profit on their £18m outlay, which could rise to £22m through performance-related add-ons.
Wharton has set up four goals in 20 matches for the Eagles across all competitions, excelling in a deep-lying midfield position and making his England debut in June's friendly win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Why do Man City, Liverpool want Wharton?
Man City's pursuit of the Crystal Palace starlet has supposedly been triggered by uncertainty surrounding the future of Rodri, whom journalist Duncan Castles claims is on the radar of Real Madrid.
The Citizens are thought to be preparing a lucrative contract offer to Rodri in the hope of keeping the Spaniard at the Etihad, but Real Madrid are hopeful of convincing the former Atletico Madrid man to move back to his homeland.
Meanwhile, Liverpool pursued a new defensive midfielder without success in the summer transfer window, notably making a concerted effort to prise Martin Zubimendi away from Real Sociedad.
However, the Spaniard ultimately decided that he could not leave San Sebastian, but Liverpool still allowed Stefan Bajcetic to join Red Bull Salzburg on loan for the 2024-25 season.
Ryan Gravenberch has enjoyed early success in the number six role this season, while Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo can also play there, but Liverpool are supposedly still planning to go after a new defensive midfielder next year. body check tags ::
