David Tully Aug 28th 2025
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand says he would sign Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton “in a heartbeat” if he were in charge of the club’s recruitment.
The Red Devils are known to be huge admirers of the England international, and asked for his thoughts on purchasing the player, Ferdinand replied:
“I’d sign Adam Wharton in a heartbeat – love him as a footballer – I don’t think we’ll get him.”
Wharton is one of three midfielders that Ruben Amorim’s side have seriously considered pursuing this summer, along with Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Sporting Lisbon’s Morten Hjulmand.
Ferdinand’s pessimism is justified
As the former United defender points out, the likelihood of Wharton making the switch to Old Trafford before the transfer window closes is very low. The main reason for that is his asking price.
Reports suggest that Palace will demand upwards of £80m for the 21-year-old, who is also attracting interest from Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool.
The Eagles are not exactly short of money, having recently offloaded Eberechi Eze to Arsenal for £67.5m, so they are under no pressure to sell Wharton. That means they are unlikely to lower their valuation.
Mainoo’s future could determine whether United buy a midfielder
It is believed that Kobbie Mainoo will be sold if the Red Devils receive an offer in the region of £45m. The club are not expecting any suitor to match that figure, so the expectation is the player won’t be going anywhere for the time being.
However, if the England star does depart, it would create an opening for a new addition in the middle of the park. In that circumstance, a bid for Wharton would become more realistic, although any approach looks a long way off as things stand.
Read more about the Manchester United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here
David Tully
David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World’s Football News Network.
