Liverpool Urged to Sign Adam Wharton Amid Midfield Concerns
Phil Thompson has urged Liverpool to throw their weight behind a move for Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton this summer, warning that the club is walking a tightrope in midfield.
Liverpool’s Midfield Gamble
Curtis Jones is on his way to Italy, with the academy graduate set to swap Merseyside for Milan and join Inter. Once that deal goes through, Liverpool’s senior options in the centre of the pitch will look alarmingly light.
As it stands, Andoni Iraola will start the 2026/27 Premier League season on Sunday at St. James’ Park with just three established central midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Szoboszlai remains a bright spot. He was one of Liverpool’s outstanding performers last term and walked away with the club’s men’s player of the year award. Mac Allister and Gravenberch, though, went the other way. Both saw their levels dip under Arne Slot, leaving question marks over their roles under Iraola’s far more demanding style.
With a heavy schedule looming and a manager whose football is built on intensity and relentless pressing, going into a season with only three senior central midfielders looks like a major risk. Thompson sees it as bordering on negligence.
Wharton Back on the Radar
Wharton has hovered around Liverpool’s rumour mill for some time. The 22-year-old England international has grown into a key figure at Crystal Palace and recently drew interest from Manchester City, who made an enquiry only to be firmly knocked back by the London club.
Palace want to keep him. That much is clear. Yet Thompson is adamant Liverpool should test that resolve.
Speaking on the BOYLE Sports and Footy Accumulators podcast, “No Tippy Tappy Football”, the former Liverpool defender made his stance clear.
“Adam Wharton is a player that I would be interested in signing for Liverpool,” he said. “I can’t understand why nobody, in all this transfer merry-go-round, has picked him up this summer.
“He is one that you talk about in terms of having good character. At a football club, besides talent, you need people of good sort, and I've always looked at Wharton and thought he's a good character.
“I think he’s probably the next player Crystal Palace will have to sell, because they have to sell one a year for big money.”
In Thompson’s eyes, Wharton ticks the boxes Liverpool should be looking at: young, proven in the Premier League, technically strong and, crucially, someone he believes would fit the culture of the dressing room.
Iraola’s New Era Needs Reinforcements
While the club wrestles with the protracted pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, Iraola at least has three fresh faces to call on this weekend. Defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, along with winger Victor Munoz, are all available as Liverpool kick off at Newcastle.
Those signings address some needs, but not all. The spine still looks short, and Thompson is not convinced Liverpool have done enough to genuinely compete at the very top.
“Liverpool still need four, maybe five, players in different positions,” he said. “Defensively, certainly; maybe a midfield player and a wide player too, because you need two quality players for every position.
“We had a massive spend last season and everybody's saying, 'how can they do it?' You look at the investment we get into our football clubs, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. When you see them traveling the world, it shows that they're the two biggest football clubs in the world.”
The message is blunt. Liverpool, in Thompson’s view, cannot lean on reputation and commercial muscle alone. If they want to stand toe-to-toe with the elite this season, they need numbers, they need quality, and they may well need Adam Wharton.
