Troy Deeney described Adam Wharton as a ‘wonderful player’ but isn’t sure the Crystal Palace midfielder is ready for a move to a Champions League club.
Wharton has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders since his move from Blackburn Rovers in January 2024.
The Englishman played a vital role as the Eagles won the FA Cup last season, and has started all 10 Palace games he has been available for this campaign.
Wharton remains under contract at Selhurst Park until 2029, but his impressive form means the 21-year-old is now being tracked by some of the biggest clubs in the world.
It was reported over the weekend that Manchester United were keen to bring Wharton to Old Trafford to solve their midfield issues and were confident of striking a deal worth around £60m.
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Liverpool have also been linked with a move for Wharton, and their interest may have only increased after Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted the midfielder may want to move to a Champions League club in the coming years.
However, while also a fan of Wharton, Deeney said he is yet to be convinced that the midfielder is ready to take the next step up and play for one of Europe’s elite sides.
‘He’s a wonderful player and he’s great for Palace and he offers a lot but I’m not sold on him 100 per cent if I’m being totally honest,’ the former Watford striker told talkSPORT.
‘I think he’s very good, very neat and very tidy. He absolutely should be in the England squad because I think No6 area is an area we struggle with.
‘I see a lot of talk at the moment about going to Champions League places and wanting to play at a higher level.
‘I haven’t seen that consistently enough yet, both with fitness and staying available.
‘Then secondly, what’s he going to cost to go to these other teams? Probably, £70-80million? What’s the expectation for that?
‘For £70-80million, I’d expect someone who is neat and tidy but also the athleticism to break away from players. He doesn’t really have that.
‘But he is a fantastic footballer, so I don’t want to come across negatively at all. Would he go into Manchester United now for example, and we go, ‘Oh, that puts them in the Champions League places?’ I don’t think so.’
Ex-Chelsea striker Carlton Cole, meanwhile, urged his former side to consider a move for Wharton to create a ‘formidable’ midfield alongside Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
‘Moises Caicedo is a top player, but adding Adam Wharton alongside Enzo Fernandez would create a formidable midfield,’ Cole told Boyle Sports. ‘That’s a tasty combination, with those three in midfield and everything around it. That’s proper.
‘It would be a very, very hard defence to get by. Going forward, they’ve got the lot.
‘They probably need an extra pair of legs in there to bolster the midfield, especially with the Champions League and so many domestic games coming up.
‘They might come up a little bit short if the boys aren’t fit to play, which burns out another part of your team.
‘They could support that with a top-quality player from the English squad. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Wharton went to Chelsea, and they’d look at that as an asset.’
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