Report: Liverpool's priority target now is just the player England were missing against Argentina | OneFootball

Liverpool have reportedly now made Adam Wharton their top midfield transfer target for this summer, perhaps learning a lesson from England’s World Cup failure.

Wharton has shone for Crystal Palace in the last few years and looks very much like the kind of intelligent ball-playing midfielder capable of dictating the tempo of a game and bringing a bit more composure and control from the middle of the park.

In short – everything that was missing from England’s squad at the World Cup this summer, as Argentina exposed in Wednesday’s semi-final clash.

Adam Wharton to Liverpool after England snub?

According to Football Transfers, Liverpool are now focusing on Wharton as a priority to give them something different in midfield, having decided against the option of signing Joao Gomes from Wolves.

Some might feel it’s surprising that a top club like LFC might be focusing on Wharton after he didn’t even make England’s World Cup squad, but maybe, in a strange sort of way, that’s the point.

England has a history of overlooking players like Wharton, who is perhaps most similar to Michael Carrick in his profile – someone who never looked particularly flashy, but who was an asset to a successful club side without ever really nailing down a place in the national team.

Liverpool will surely know the importance of having someone like that in their squad, as they’ve previously had down the years with players like Xabi Alonso and Fabinho, while others like Thiago Alcantara and Ryan Gravenberch share some of those characteristics as well.

Liverpool move could help Adam Wharton’s England chances

Perhaps getting a big move could also help Wharton break into England squads more often in the future.

The 22-year-old has four caps to his name so far, but many will feel he’d already earned the chance to win a few more.

Wharton has been a huge part of Palace’s recent successes in the FA Cup and Europa Conference League, and he could surely have done something for England this summer.

Even if Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson were always likely to be Thomas Tuchel’s starting midfield duo, having Wharton off the bench could have made a big difference against Argentina, when England just lost control of the game completely, failing to string more than a couple of passes together and just retreating further back into their own penalty area.