Richard Hughes wants deal for £70m England midfielder | OneFootball

Liverpool made £450m worth of signings last summer - breaking the British transfer record twice in deals for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

The squad overall got a major refit - as sporting director Richard Hughes attempted to improve the group which won the Premier League title in 2024/25.

Curiously one area of the squad which didn’t get any attention was midfield.

Indeed Hughes opted to sanction departures for the likes of Tyler Morton, Harvey Elliott and James McConnell - leaving Arne Slot with only five midfielders at his disposal.

Liverpool want to upgrade midfield options

There is no doubt that Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo have been important for the Reds.

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But it’s clear that Liverpool need added options in midfield - with the load remaining very heavy on that quintet. All five have suffered some degree of injury trouble this season - with Slot having to turn to youth products like Trey Nyoni to bulk out the squad.

And it looks like Liverpool have got midfield in mind for squad improvements next summer. The Daily Mail is now claiming that Crystal Palace schemer Adam Wharton is on Liverpool’s radar.

£70m-rated Wharton on Liverpool radar

The 21-year-old has again been in terrific form for the FA Cup holders this season - with some estimates placing his price tag as high as £70m.

Wharton is under contract until 2029 - but is widely expected to move on to a bigger club before long. Manchester United are also interested but Liverpool will be hoping to get ahead of their rivals in a deal for the England international next summer.

“Adam Wharton is on Liverpool’s radar for summer,” the report reads.

Wharton went to Euro 2024 under Gareth Southgate for the Three Lions and will be hoping to push for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the FIFA World Cup in summer 2026.

Capable of anchoring the midfield or influencing the game further forward Wharton could be a good solution for a Liverpool side who have dominated possession in recent games but struggled to find a breakthrough.