Why Blackburn Rovers must hate what England boss Thomas Tuchel has just done | OneFootball

With confirmation of the England squad for the 2026 World Cup finals, knock-on effects may be felt at Ewood Park which could hurt Blackburn Rovers.

The announcement of the England squad for the 2026 World Cup finals will surely lead to disappointment at Ewood Park, where one of their graduates has missed out on a place on the plane.

Confirmation of the final 26-player squad for the World Cup finals has resulted in as much talk about which players will be missing out this summer as those who've made the cut. The England manager Thomas Tuchel hasn't shied away from some difficult decisions, with star players such as Phil Foden of Manchester City and Cole Palmer of Chelsea missing out on a summer trip to North America.

But in the case of one player who's missed out, there will also be disappointment at the EFL Championship club who brought him through from their academy before selling him on to the Premier League. For Blackburn Rovers, Adam Wharton going to the World Cup finals wouldn't only have been a matter of local pride; with the World Cup finals being football's ultimate showcase for players, it could end up hitting them financially, as well.

A strong World Cup showing from Adam Wharton could have meant a big payday for Blackburn Rovers

Over the two and a half years since his move from Blackburn Rovers to Crystal Palace, Adam Wharton has grown into becoming one of England's most promising young players. Palace paid Blackburn £18 million for Wharton at the end of the January 2024 transfer window, potentially rising to £22 million with add-ons, and he has flourished at Selhurst Park, having already won the FA Cup and Community Shield with them in 2025, and with the 2025-26 season ending with him having a shot at winning the Europa Conference League.

Wharton is Blackburn born and raised, and it would have been a great source of local pride to both his former club and the local community have him representing the Lancashire town in the World Cup finals this summer, in and of itself. But his exclusion from the final 26-man squad isn't just a disappointment from that perspective. Wharton has been tipped to move on from Selhurst Park, and they would be entitled to a 15% cut of any profit made from the sale.

With the World Cup finals being the shop window that they are, Wharton's value could have shot up, had he been able to impress in this tournament, and that could have had a significant effect on his market value. Fotmob have given him an estimated value of £56 million, and were he to sell for that price, Blackburn would have been entitled to just over £5 million in additional compensation. But a strong showing in the finals could have pushed his value up significantly, meaning that Blackburn could have been entitled to an even bigger payday.

Despite his tender age, Adam Wharton was with Blackburn for 14 years

Adam Wharton isn't just a former Blackburn Rovers player. Having been born in the town, he grew up as a supporter of the club, was a mascot for them in 2008 at just four years of age, and joined their academy just two years later. In total, even though he's still only 22 years old, he ended up at Ewood Park for an astonishing 14 years, signing his first professional contract with them in February 2022.

However, since the first contract that he signed with the club only ran for two and a half years, by February 2024, and with interest in him growing from Premier League clubs, the decision was taken to cash in and sell him on, and he exchanged Ewood Park for Selhurst Park.

His development as a player since then has been exemplified through his ascent into the picture for a place in the England squad. Having already played for the under-19, under-20 and under-21 teams, he made his full England debut against Bosnia & Herzegovina shortly after having been picked in the 33-player preliminary squad for that summer's European Championship finals. Ironically, two of the players who scored in England's 3-0 win in that match, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer, will also miss out on this summer's World Cup.

Wharton was also included in the 26-player final squad for the team which ended the tournament as runners-up to Spain. Although he didn't get onto the pitch during these finals, he did remain in the thoughts of Thomas Tuchel after he replaced Gareth Southgate as the England manager, and he has made a further three appearances for England over the course of the 2025-26 season, the last of which came in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay in March.

Crystal Palace will be eager to hold onto a player of his calibre for as long as possible, and at 22 years of age there will be other opportunities to force his way back into the England squad for future tournaments. But there does remain a possibility that Palace will sell him on, especially if there is considerable interest in him from the Premier League's big beasts.

But Blackburn Rovers will be disappointed that Adam Wharton didn't make the cut, this time around. Not only would it have been a source of considerable local pride had a player from their town and their local club's academy been selected for Thomas Tuchel's final squad, but it could also have pushed his value up, allowing Rovers to make a little more should Crystal Palace decide to sell him. His absence from the England squad this summer won't just hurt Blackburn in the heart, it might just hurt their pocket too.