Adam Wharton to Man City? Ex-Chief scout shares major transfer update
Adam Wharton will need to prove he can bounce back from his recent injury issues as Man City weigh up a move to sign the Crystal Palace star.
This is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who has a wealth of experience in player recruitment at the top level, as he exclusively told Football Insider that he will have to prove his levels will not drop after surgery.
Football Insider revealed on 4 October that Wharton “ticks a lot of boxes” for City and his name has been mentioned often at the Etihad as a potential Rodri replacement.
However, the 20-year-old has been struggling with an ongoing groin injury since returning from England duty at Euro 2024, and has been playing through the issue.
That same issue forced him off after just 27 minutes during Palace’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win against Aston Villa on 30 October.
Oliver Glasner explained that the midfielder will undergo surgery on his groin at some stage – with the expectation that it will take place over the upcoming international break.
As a result, interested clubs including Man City will keep a close eye on his recovery to decipher whether his game will be affected.
Adam Wharton told what he must do to secure Man City transfer
Rodri’s cruciate ligament injury suffered earlier this season has seen City’s transfer team spring into action as they assess the market for a possible replacement, with Wharton on that list.
Brown, who spent over a decade at Man United during their most successful period and remains very well-connected within the game, insisted that the midfielder will need to prove his fitness before clubs make a move – making a January deal very unlikely.
“I’d be surprised if it happened in January,” he told Football Insider.
“I watched him quite often at Blackburn, and he’s clearly very talented, but there were days where he could be marked out of a game or they’d cut off the supply to him.
“Another question I had was about whether he could cover the ground, and these injury issues have probably contributed to that again.
“Now, to clarify, those are a couple of doubts amongst many, many positives and assets to his game.
“He’s improved since moving to Palace and is adding new strings to his bow.
“He had been answering a lot of those questions and even got into the England squad.
“A lot of people across the game, including Man City, think very highly of him and are watching closely.
“But if you throw his injury situation into the mix, it means he’ll have to prove he can recover and get back to his top levels.
“I hope, and I’m sure that’s something he will be able to do because he’s a very talented player.
“But he will need to prove that his levels will not drop after the injury issues – especially after he has this surgery that has been mentioned.”
In other news, Man City “pushing to get Florian Wirtz deal done”, says transfer guru.
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