Liverpool's Midfield Dilemma: Should They Sign Adam Wharton?
Liverpool’s midfield has become the talking point of their summer – and one prominent voice believes the solution is clear, if eye‑wateringly expensive.
With three weeks left in the transfer window, Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has urged the club he grew up supporting to do something bold: spend up to £100m on Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.
“Bring Wharton in”
Liverpool’s business so far has been measured rather than spectacular. Jeremy Jacquet has arrived to bolster the defence, Ronald Araujo has joined on loan, and winger Victor Munoz has been added to the attacking options. Harvey Elliott is back from a disappointing spell at Aston Villa. The midfield, though, remains largely untouched.
MacAnthony, a lifelong Liverpool fan, used his appearance on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show to make a forceful case that this is where sporting director Richard Hughes must act.
“I’d love them to sign Adam Wharton,” he said. “I think [Alexis] Mac Allister, for me, his legs were gone last year. It was only when he put an Argentina shirt on that his legs reappeared.
“If you could do business there with him going, I think you bring [Wharton] in and you’ve got a player for the next seven, eight years that will be a starter. He’s got so much upside and potential in him. Even if he costs £85m-£100m or whatever else, you’re getting the player for the long-term.”
That is not a gentle suggestion. It is a call for a reset in the centre of the pitch.
Barcola chase complicates the picture
There is a problem. Liverpool are already deep into another big-money pursuit, targeting Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola. With the clock ticking towards deadline day, it would take a major shift in strategy to suddenly launch a second huge deal for Wharton.
The Palace midfielder has been linked with Liverpool earlier in the summer, but those rumours have cooled. No active negotiations have surfaced in recent weeks.
On the pitch, though, Wharton’s stock keeps rising. At 22, he has already made 70 Premier League appearances for Palace and drawn praise from one of the league’s most authoritative midfield voices. Declan Rice has described him as a “top-level” player, a compliment that carries weight in any recruitment meeting.
The missing no.6
Liverpool are not short of midfielders by sheer numbers. What they lack is clarity in one crucial role.
The defeat to Monaco on Sunday underlined it. Liverpool went 2-0 up, then lost their grip. The shape frayed, the spaces opened. The absence of a natural, elite holding midfielder was exposed again.
Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo wrote that the side “became disjointed and far too easy to play through” after establishing their early lead. James Pearce, writing in The Athletic, highlighted “the fact they have not bought a specialist holding midfielder to ease the burden on [Ryan] Gravenberch” as a concern.
That is the context into which MacAnthony drops Wharton’s name.
Wharton is not a destroyer in the classic no.6 mould. He does not top the league for crunching tackles or sliding challenges. His game is more nuanced: win the ball, move it quickly, get his team playing higher up the pitch.
The numbers from last season back that up. Per 90 minutes in the 2025/26 Premier League, he ranked in the 95th percentile for big chances created (0.49) and 84th for chances created overall (1.55). He averaged 5.8 recoveries per game (85th percentile), and 0.6 possession wins in the final third (75th percentile). Even his tackling – 2.46 per 90 – sits comfortably above average (64th percentile), with 4.92 duels won per match (51st percentile).
Those are the metrics of a midfielder who reads the game, turns defence into attack and sustains pressure. Not a pure holding shield, but a modern pivot who can tilt a match in his team’s favour.
Will Liverpool make the leap?
Right now, there is no indication Liverpool are about to test Palace’s resolve with a nine-figure bid. Their focus, and their budget, appear tied up in the pursuit of Barcola.
Inside Anfield, the argument will be familiar: the squad already has bodies in midfield, other areas need attention, and long-term planning cannot be ripped up on a whim. Outside, voices like MacAnthony’s see something different – a title-chasing side missing one piece at the base of midfield, and a 22-year-old at Selhurst Park who looks ready to grow into that role for the next decade.
Liverpool may not move for Adam Wharton before this window closes.
But if the season starts to expose the same old fault line in front of their defence, how long can they ignore a player who looks built to fix it?
