Real Madrid are plotting a stunning €115 million raid for long-term Manchester United target Adam Wharton – but the Red Devils know what they must do to be able compete with the Spanish giant, according to reports.
A Perfect Fit at Old Trafford
Wharton, 21, has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best young midfielders since joining Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers eighteen months ago.
A whirlwind rise has seen Wharton make the England squad for the European Championship in Germany last year and lift both the FA Cup and Community Shield with Palace this summer, helping lead the Eagles to European football for the first time in the club’s history.
He combines the no nonsense, hard-tackling attitude of an English midfielder with the technical skill and an eye for a pass of a deep-lying playmaker from Spain.
It’s easy, therefore, to see why United have been tracking the England international over the past two years with a gaping hole in the midfield at Old Trafford.
Under Oliver Glanser, Palace play the exact same system as Amorim has, unsuccessful so far, been attempting to implement with United – a 3-4-2-1 formation with a midfield pivot.
It’s a set-up which places a lot of demands, both physically and technically, on the central midfielders – but Wharton has thrived within it in a way the midfield unit at United have not.
Competition from Spain
United are not alone in their admiration for Wharton.
There is considerable interest elsewhere in the Premier League, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City all reported to be keeping a watchful eye.
But it is the injection of Real Madrid to the red-hot race for the Palace star which will be causing panic at Old Trafford as when Los Blancos come knocking for a player there is usually only one answer.
Spanish outlet Fichajes reports Madrid consider Wharton their “main target to strengthen their midfield” and are preparing a “€115 million offer to complete his signing” next summer.
New manager Xabi Alonso is said to have demanded Wharton’s signing as he considers the 21-year-old the “missing piece” of his side.
“Following the retirement of Toni Kroos and the departure of Luka Modric , Real Madrid lacks a pure playmaker who can dictate the pace of matches. For Alonso, Wharton is the ideal player : left-footed, with great vision, and capable of breaking the lines with vertical passes.”
The report reveals officials at the Bernabeu view the Englishman as the “natural heir to Kroos and Modric, capable of continuing a style of play based on possession and tactical intelligence.”
CaughtOffside reports United are “keen” on Wharton but there is acceptance that Amorim will “need to secure Champions League football in order to attract [an] elite talent like him.”
Palace do not want to sell before Monday night’s deadline, having already lost a key member of Glasner’s squad in Eberechi Eze. But United remain desperate for an upgrade in midfield after a failed pursuit of Brighton starlet Carlos Baleba and none of the existing options capable of playing the number six role.
And should the Red Devils wait until next summer to make a move for Wharton, they may find themselves too late to the party.
If INEOS want to sign Wharton, this transfer window increasingly looks like the time to strike, whatever the cost, to secure a player often compared to United legend Michael Carrick.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
