Liverpool Targets Adam Wharton in Major Rebuild under Iraola
Liverpool’s summer reset is gathering pace, and Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has moved onto their radar as the club prepares to arm new manager Andoni Iraola for a major overhaul.
The Spaniard’s arrival, confirmed after the surprise sacking of Arne Slot, has jolted Anfield out of its comfort zone. Slot delivered a Premier League title in his first season, only to oversee a sharp drop-off in his second. The response from the hierarchy is clear: change the squad, and do it aggressively.
Key pillars have already gone. Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté – three of the defining figures of Liverpool’s recent era – have left sizeable gaps in defence and attack. The spine that carried them through title challenges suddenly looks thinner, older, less certain.
And that is where Wharton comes in.
Midfield under the microscope
Liverpool’s recruitment team have been heavily linked with wide forwards, particularly as they scramble to replace Salah’s goals and presence. Talks are ongoing over RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, the 19‑year‑old earmarked as the preferred heir to the Egyptian on the right flank. Personal terms are believed to be broadly in place, but Leipzig are holding firm at a valuation north of £100 million.
Yet the club’s gaze is not fixed solely on the front line. According to GIVEMESPORT’s Ben Jacobs, speaking on talkSPORT, Liverpool are also weighing up reinforcements in the middle of the pitch – with Wharton high on their list.
“Keep an eye on central midfield. Adam Wharton is a player really appreciated by Liverpool,” Jacobs said.
It is not hard to see why. The central unit that once looked stacked now feels fragile. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, both expected to kick on, struggled to hit their previous levels across the 2025–26 campaign. Dominik Szoboszlai has become one of the first names on the team sheet, but he cannot carry the department alone across four competitions.
Liverpool want more energy, more control, more reliability. Wharton offers exactly that profile: press-resistant, progressive, and tactically disciplined.
He is also under contract. Palace have him tied down for another three years at Selhurst Park, where Europa League football awaits next season. The south London club are under no pressure to sell and have watched his reputation soar, even as he missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
Oliver Glasner went as far as to call Wharton “one of the best midfielders in the world” in recent weeks. That kind of endorsement, from a manager who has transformed Palace’s style and tempo, will only harden their stance at the negotiating table.
Big money, big expectations
Liverpool are not shying away from heavyweight deals. Last summer they pushed through £100m‑plus transfers for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, a clear statement that they are prepared to operate at the very top end of the market.
That pattern looks set to continue. Diomande will cost well over £100m if Leipzig get their way. Paris Saint‑Germain’s Champions League winner Bradley Barcola has been linked, as has Bournemouth winger Rayan, with both clubs placing valuations in excess of £100m on their assets.
The numbers are eye-watering, but so is the scale of the rebuild Iraola has walked into. Liverpool conceded a club-record number of goals in a Premier League season, lost their most reliable wide threat, and waved goodbye to a cornerstone left-back and a starting centre-half. Depth in the wide areas is especially thin, with 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha still in the early stages of his first-team emergence.
Against that backdrop, Wharton represents something slightly different: a structural signing rather than a headline one. He would not arrive as the face of the project, but as the kind of midfielder who lets the stars shine and the manager’s ideas stick.
Palace will fight to keep him. Liverpool will not be the only elite club watching. But as the Iraola era begins with bold moves and big cheques, the pursuit of Wharton may reveal just how far Liverpool are willing to go to rebuild a title-winning core – and how quickly they expect to get back to the top.
