Real Madrid ‘now willing to pay’ £87m for top Man Utd target as Klopp ‘takes signing from Barcelona’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid are now ready to pay a huge fee to sign top Man Utd transfer target Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace in the summer, according to reports.

Wharton is on a four-man shortlist of midfielders that Man Utd are looking to buy in the summer with the Red Devils hoping to bring in one or two new players in that position.

The former Blackburn Rovers man was in brilliant form for Crystal Palace as they won the FA Cup last season and finished 12th in the Premier League.

It has been a tumultuous few months at Selhurst Park with a number of players likely to leave in the summer and Oliver Glasner already confirming his departure.

Speaking last week on the situation at Crystal Palace, Glasner said: “Many players think they have to move on and some are looking at where they will play next year rather than where they are playing right now. This is part of success, but it is never a good circumstance.”

Wharton could be one player looking to leave and now reports in Spain are claiming that Real Madrid are ‘now willing to pay’ €100m (£87m) for the Crystal Palace midfielder.

The report adds: ‘Real Madrid’s interest is not seen as just any ordinary move. In fact, it’s a player Xabi Alonso had already requested, a move the club rejected. However, now, seeing that there’s an abundance of muscle and a lack of talent in the Real Madrid midfield, those at the Bernabeu are clear that they must go all out for a playmaker like Adam Wharton, despite his high price tag.

‘Furthermore, his profile fits perfectly into one of the areas that Real Madrid continues to monitor closely: improving the quality of the midfield. The team lacks organisation, and in that respect, few players can offer what Wharton does.’

Former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown reckons Wharton needs to up his performances despite potentially having one eye on a transfer away from Selhurst Park.

Brown told Football Insider: “I think there are some concerns about Wharton’s performances.

“It’s not a massive problem, players go through dips in form especially when the team are struggling to get results, but he has really dropped off recently.

“Then Glasner comes out with his comments saying some of the players have had their heads turned or are looking at where they might play next season.

“I think that forces you to look at who hasn’t been playing well that those comments could be about, and I’m afraid Wharton might be one of those.

“We know there’s interest in him and clubs have been looking at him, but he can’t afford to let his performances drop while he’s still a Palace player.

“He’s part of that spine of the team that I’ve always said they need to do whatever they can to keep, it’s Wharton, Henderson, Lacroix, and before it was Mateta.

“Now Mateta looks like he’s off after everything that happened with him, and Palace have to look at who might be next. It’s a real shame, to be honest.”

Another player Real Madrid could sign is Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck as potential new boss at the Bernabeu, Jurgen Klopp, could ‘take a signing away from Barcelona’.

Klopp ‘may be the main reason a player high on Barcelona’s radar could slip through their fingers’ with Hansi Flick ‘recommending the inclusion of his compatriot’ at the Camp Nou.

But now Real Madrid – who could be led by Klopp next season – has ‘also intensified its efforts’ and the former Liverpool boss ‘would be key’ to the German’s potential move to the Bernabeu.

The report adds: ‘The aforementioned source claims he would choose Real Madrid without hesitation if Klopp were to replace Alvaro Arbeloa as manager.’