Despite claims that Manchester United are planning to make Adam Wharton the final piece of their midfield renewal, a surprising update comes from a reliable reporter – and it involves Manchester City.
United went into the summer window with the goal of signing three new midfielders. Two are already in place: Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos for a total of £85 million.
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However, progress on the third signing has been slow. At the weekend, CaughtOffside claimed that United accelerated their pursuit of Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace. The 22-year-old was among the names heavily linked with Old Trafford before the window opened, along with Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson – the latter of whom eventually ended up at Manchester City.
According to CaughtOffside, United have finally decided that the time has come to step up their chase, but Palace are set to demand £85m – which could be a challenge.
Jacobs: “Surprisingly quiet”
But according to Ben Jacobs, the Wharton situation right now is very calm – much to Palace’s delight.
Jacobs also made a bombshell: if there is one club that can make a decisive move for Wharton in the coming weeks, it is Manchester City – not Manchester United. The fact that United were not mentioned at all speaks volumes about their alleged pursuit of the player.
“yes, no real news about Adam Wharton,” Jacobs began on talkSPORT.
“It’s been surprisingly quiet, actually. There were some early enquiries when Chelsea were looking at the midfield market, but they have now brought in Jordan Henderson and tried to get Granit Xhaka. And the feeling is that Chelsea must focus on sales rather than purchases anyway.
“From Palace’s point of view, they would like to keep Wharton and hope it remains quiet between now and the end of the window.
Manchester City can strike
“Manchester City is perhaps one club to keep an eye on, because they made an enquiry before the window opened. For now, they are focusing on Ayyoub Bouaddi – advanced talks are underway with Lille, and City want to sign Bouaddi now, although Lille prefer a loan or pre-deal with a transfer in 2027.
“But it’s not impossible that Manchester City – if Rodri goes to Barcelona as expected – are looking for more than one midfielder. So we could get a twist towards the end of the window with Adam Wharton. But so far, one of the biggest surprises this window is that all the noise and all inquiries came before the window opened. As far as I know, Palace have not received a single offer as of today,” Jacobs said.
Romano: “City want to bring in more than one”
Earlier on Monday, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille. But he stressed that City will bring in another big name in midfield after Bouaddi – given that Rodri is expected to leave for Barcelona. Bernardo Silva also left the club earlier this summer when he joined Real Madrid on a free transfer.
“This won’t be the only signing for Manchester City in midfield. They want to do more,” Romano declared.
Thus, Wharton could still end up in Manchester before the window closes – but at the Etihad, not Old Trafford.
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