Liverpool's Bold Swap Idea for Adam Wharton
Liverpool’s search for the next phase of their midfield rebuild has taken a sharp, intriguing turn – straight through Selhurst Park and into Crystal Palace’s boardroom.
With Mohamed Salah gone and a new winger still top of the shopping list, Fenway Sports Group are quietly working on another front. They want Adam Wharton. Badly enough, according to multiple reports, to put Harvey Elliott on the table in a potential swap.
This is not a casual enquiry. It is a plan.
Liverpool’s Wharton push takes shape
TEAMtalk have tracked Liverpool’s interest in Wharton for months, and the picture is starting to sharpen. Journalist Danny Gallagher revealed that the club are actively exploring a deal for the England international, and are prepared to send Elliott to Palace as part of the package.
Gallagher wrote on X at 1:06pm on July 5 that Liverpool are “looking into the logistics” of Elliott moving to Palace as part of a Wharton agreement, even though new boss Andoni Iraola still wants to assess whether letting the 23-year-old go is necessary. The suggestion is clear: if all parties give the green light, this could move quickly.
For Elliott, the situation is delicate. He spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Aston Villa, but the conditions for an obligatory buy clause were never triggered. Under Arne Slot, he had already slipped out of favour and was shipped out on loan. Iraola’s arrival offered a potential fresh start, yet before he has even made a definitive call, Elliott’s name is being used as leverage in one of the summer’s most ambitious midfield moves.
Palace hold the cards – and the price
Liverpool’s interest comes against a backdrop of mixed signals. Just days earlier, Football Insider suggested the Merseyside club might be cooling on Wharton altogether. Journalist Pete O’Rourke noted on July 3 that the trail had “gone quiet” and questioned whether Wharton would truly top Iraola’s list, given the high-intensity style the Spaniard installed at Bournemouth.
O’Rourke also underlined Palace’s position. They have already watched Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi depart in recent years. Losing another centrepiece would sting. Wharton is under contract, Palace are under no pressure to sell, and, as O’Rourke put it, the Eagles are “in box seat here”.
That power is reflected in the numbers. TEAMtalk’s transfer insider Graeme Bailey reported back on April 17 that Palace want Wharton to become their record sale. Sources have indicated a £70m valuation for the 22-year-old, eclipsing the £68m Arsenal paid for Eze in the summer of 2025. Palace want £2m more this time. That is the starting point for any negotiation.
Market forces and a narrowing field
The wider market has only strengthened Palace’s hand. Tottenham were strongly linked with Wharton earlier in the window, yet their focus now lies elsewhere, with deals progressing for Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Other big clubs have moved quickly to secure midfield reinforcements, reducing the number of realistic bidders for Palace’s prize asset.
That could, paradoxically, keep Wharton at Selhurst Park. If rival options dry up for Liverpool and other suitors lock in their targets, Palace can simply sit tight, confident in both contract and valuation. For a club that has already weathered an exodus of talent, keeping their midfield metronome would be a significant statement.
Liverpool’s dilemma
So Liverpool stand at a crossroads. They want a winger to replace Salah. They want to refresh and harden their midfield. They want Wharton, and they have a valuable, if unsettled, asset in Elliott who could tempt Palace into the room.
But this is no cut-price raid. Palace are demanding record money, and any swap would still need to satisfy that £70m benchmark in total value. Iraola, meanwhile, must decide quickly how central Elliott could be to his own plans before the club commit him to a deal that sends him out the door.
If Liverpool push this through, it will be one of the defining moves of their summer – and a test of just how much they believe Adam Wharton can anchor the next version of their midfield.
