Manchester United heroes Paul Scholes and Wes Brown have questioned why the club appear to have cooled their interest in Adam Wharton this summer.
Central midfield was identified as United’s primary area of focus entering into this year’s transfer window, with the club successfully overhauling their misfiring attack in a £200million spending spree 12 months ago.
It has seen a host of high-profile names have been linked to the Theatre of Dreams in recent weeks, including the likes of Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Wharton.
But Anderson would go on to complete a club-record £116m move to bitter rivals Manchester City, while Tonali and Fernandes snubbed the Red Devils to join Tottenham instead for a combined fee of around £185m.
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Wharton, meanwhile, looks set to remain at Selhurst Park for the time being, with Crystal Palace reluctant to lose such a key player ahead of the new season.
Fortunately for United, they successfully strengthened their options in the middle of the park last month by bringing in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively.
It remains to be seen if Old Trafford bosses will look to further bolster Michael Carrick’s engine room before the transfer deadline comes around on September 1.
‘I can’t believe Manchester United are not trying to buy Adam Wharton,’ Scholes said on a recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football sponsored by Midnite.
‘I think I’ve said on here before that Sandro Tonali would have been my first choice.
‘But obviously with him gone now, Adam Wharton looks perfect for me.’
Reports earlier this summer indicated Palace were demanding an eye-watering fee in the region of £80-100million for Wharton, which may explain why United have seemingly dropped their interest.
But if the Red Devils are somehow able to drive down Palace’s asking price, ex-United defender Brown believes the 22-year-old England international would be a ‘brilliant buy’.
‘I still think he’s a player with great quality,’ Brown told Oddschecker’s Transfer Timer show.
‘He gets the ball, he can pass forward, he can tackle, he’s young and if you can get him at the right price I think he’d be a brilliant buy.
‘If you got him at the right price, definitely pay. But if it was too much, I’m talking over £80million then pass.’
Wharton has made 96 appearances in all competitions for Palace since arriving from boyhood side Blackburn Rovers back in 2024.
He has played an instrumental role across an historic period of success at Selhurst Park in that time, helping the club win the FA Cup, the Europa Conference League and the Community Shield under Oliver Glasner.
The midfielder’s current contract with the Eagles is not due to expire until June 2029.
Would £80m for Wharton be a good deal for Man Utd?
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Yes
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No
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