Liverpool ‘fighting’ Man Utd for sublime £65m star after Carragher pinpoints ‘real problem’ | OneFootball

Liverpool are reportedly competing with Manchester United for the capture of Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton amid Jamie Carragher’s criticism of the current Anfield midfield.

Wharton quickly made his mark on the Premier League after stepping up from Championship club Blackburn Rovers in January 2024. Palace paid Blackburn £18million for Wharton, and it has proven to be a masterful transfer.

The player’s value has skyrocketed thanks to his classy displays in the middle of the park. Wharton is extremely composed on the ball for a young player and almost always picks the right pass.

He thrives at building up play from deep but also has great long-range passing ability, while his set-piece deliveries can be deadly, too.

These traits have seen Wharton force his way into the senior England squad, while also emerging as a target for the Premier League’s elite.

Indeed, we revealed on February 27 that Wharton has a gentleman’s agreement with Palace that will allow him to leave for a Champions League club in a £60-65m (up to €75m / $86m) deal this summer, putting both Liverpool and United on red alert.

Off the back of that, and according to Football Insider, Liverpool are ‘fighting’ Man Utd, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to land Wharton in a statement summer deal.

FI reporter Pete O’Rourke said: “There’s no doubt he’s going to be on the radar of a number of clubs. He has been on the radar of several top Premier League clubs for a while now, with United amongst them.

“You’ve got the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and others abroad who are very much interested in Wharton.

“We know he is going to be the subject of transfer speculation this summer because of how well he is playing for Crystal Palace. He is a key man for them.

“Wharton, at some point, will want to be playing at the highest level possible. I think he’s admitted before that he sees himself playing Champions League football and wants to become a regular in the England squad as well.

“He’s obviously one of the players who is on United’s list as they look to restructure their midfield next season as well. There are a number of players that they are looking at, and Wharton is on that list.”

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Carragher questions Mac Allister

Wharton moving to Anfield would please former Liverpool defender Carragher. After the Reds’ damaging 1-1 home draw with struggling Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Carragher highlighted midfield as a real issue for Arne Slot.

“The longer the games go on, the more [Alexis] Mac Allister struggles,” the pundit said on Sky Sports.

“I think that’s a real problem for Liverpool that they need to address in midfield.

“Curtis Jones comes on, and the game goes end to end. He takes on the Florian Wirtz role, and I don’t know why; he’s not that player. There’s too much space when the game opens up, and Mac Allister can’t cover it.”

Liverpool latest: Slot sack pressure builds; Newcastle target

Journalists have piled on Slot and Liverpool after the draw with Spurs saw them drop vital points in the race for Champions League qualification and with many now feeling the performance was up there with the worst seen by Liverpool at Anfield in years.

On the transfer front, Liverpool and Arsenal are both expressing interest in a £70m-rated Newcastle United star, a report has claimed.

However, it will be a tricky deal for Liverpool to pull off following the protracted negotiations for Alexander Isak last summer.