Report: Chelsea eyeing Premier League duo for major potential midfield investment | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly ready to make a central midfielder a top transfer priority for 2026, with Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo on their radar.

As previously reported, Chelsea want to strengthen in midfield as one of their priorities to ease the workload on Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

This has now been confirmed by a report in the Telegraph claiming that the Blues have been looking at both Wharton and Mainoo for that position.

The talented England international duo could be smart investments as they’re both young talents with big futures in the game, but it remains to be seen precisely how Chelsea will go about working on that area of their squad.

Would Mainoo or Wharton be the better Chelsea signing?

Given that Chelsea already have a world class midfield pairing in Caicedo and Fernandez, any new signing might struggle to start a lot of games for Enzo Maresca’s side.

With that in mind, CFC might not want to pay too much for someone who’s only likely to be a bench or rotation player.

That could mean a move for Wharton is unlikely, as he’s previously also been linked with other big clubs and might cost as much as £70m, as per TEAMtalk and others.

That would be a lot to pay for someone who isn’t going to be guaranteed regular playing time, and Wharton himself would probably also choose another club where he’d be given more of a key role.

Mainoo could, therefore, be a better option for Chelsea to add depth, as he’ll surely want out of Old Trafford after his recent struggles.

Man United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in action (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Even if the 20-year-old didn’t go straight into the starting XI at Stamford Bridge, he’d probably still view it as a better move after being almost completely frozen out by Ruben Amorim this season.

Mainoo’s current situation might also mean he’s cheaper than Wharton, whilst still also surely being seen as a player with plenty of potential to improve in the future.