Liverpool's Midfield Dilemma: Should They Sign Adam Wharton?
Liverpool’s summer rebuild has been decisive in some areas and strangely quiet in others. Two defenders in Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, a winger in Victor Munoz, and the return of Harvey Elliott from his aborted Aston Villa spell have freshened up the squad.
The middle of the pitch, though, still looks like unfinished business.
A £100m call to arms
Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony, a lifelong Liverpool supporter, has gone public with a bold solution: break the bank for Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show, MacAnthony didn’t bother with half-measures. He challenged Liverpool to rip up the current midfield hierarchy and invest heavily in a player he believes can anchor the side for the best part of a decade.
“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’s not a gentle nudge. That’s a demand for a reset.
A glaring gap in the spine
Liverpool’s squad list says they aren’t short of midfielders. The performances say something different.
The defeat to Monaco on Sunday once again exposed the lack of a truly elite, natural No. 6. After racing into a 2-0 lead, Liverpool lost their grip on the contest. The structure frayed, the spaces opened, and Monaco sliced through the middle far too easily.
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle described how the Reds “became disjointed and far too easy to play through” once in control. 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’s the backdrop to MacAnthony’s plea. This isn’t about luxury. It’s about balance.
Why Wharton?
Wharton is not the classic destroyer who flies into every tackle. He doesn’t fit the old-school image of a snarling No. 6. What he does bring is control, intelligence and a knack for turning regains into danger.
Across his Premier League minutes for Crystal Palace, the 22-year-old has built a profile that jumps off the data sheet. Per 90 minutes in the 2025/26 campaign, he ranks in the 95th percentile for “big chances” created (0.49) and the 84th for overall chances created (1.55). Those are playmaker numbers from deep.
Off the ball, he’s no passenger. He sits in the 85th percentile for recoveries (5.8 per 90) and 75th for possession won in the final third (0.6), with solid tackling (2.46 per 90, 64th percentile) and duels won (4.92, around the median). He wins it, keeps it, and then hurts you with it.
Declan Rice has already branded him a “top-level” player, and 70 Premier League appearances for Palace have hardened him in one of the most unforgiving midfields in Europe. This isn’t a kid dazzling in short bursts; it’s a young midfielder quietly stacking evidence that he belongs at the very top.
That’s what MacAnthony is pointing at. Not just potential, but proof.
The money, the timing, the reality
There is a problem. Liverpool are already deep into a big-money pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola. With the window ticking into its final three weeks, ripping up that plan to launch another nine-figure chase for Wharton would demand a dramatic change of strategy from sporting director Richard Hughes and owners FSG.
Earlier in the summer, Liverpool were loosely linked with Wharton. Those whispers have gone quiet. No live negotiations, no sense of an imminent move, no noise from Palace.
Right now, it feels unlikely that Wharton walks through the Shankly Gates before this window closes. The club’s energy appears to be directed elsewhere, and Palace would not let a 22-year-old cornerstone go cheaply or easily this late in the market.
But the debate isn’t going away.
Every time Liverpool get stretched in transition, every time Gravenberch is asked to do two jobs at once, every time a lead evaporates because the middle of the pitch can’t suffocate a game, the same question will echo around Anfield.
Is this the moment they finally pay for a long-term guardian of their midfield – or keep waiting while someone else snaps Wharton up?
