Crystal Palace 'confident' over Adam Wharton after Liverpool twist

Crystal Palace are growing increasingly "confident" of keeping Adam Wharton as interest from Liverpool has cooled, sources have told Football Insider.

The 22-year-old has been outstanding for Crystal Palace and played a key role in his side winning the FA Cup and Conference League in the last two seasons.

That has attracted interest from high-profile suitors, with Liverpool having been the most keen, but that interest appears to have faded in recent weeks.

As I revaled on the latest edition of Football Insider's Transfer Insider podcast, Andoni Iraola does not view Wharton as a priority and is instead looking at other targets.

Meanwhile, Tottenham's signings of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, Man City's signing of Elliot Anderson and Man United's pursuit of Alex Scott have given the Eagles room to breathe.

Crystal Palace are extremely reluctant to lose key players in the summer window, and hope Wharton will continue to play a key role under Pierre Sage.

What is Liverpool's stance on signing Adam Wharton?

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider last month that Wharton is a leading target in Liverpool's efforts to sign a new central midfielder.

However, Iraola is set to prioritise other positions of the team before turning his attention to the midfield, with a replacement for Mohamed Salah now crucial.

As a result, Palace are growing increasingly confident that a lack of serious interest will allow them to keep Wharton at the club for at least one more season.

Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: "Obviously Palace don't want to lose one of their best players after losing the likes of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi in recent years.

"It's gone quiet on him, to be honest. Obviously there were early links with Liverpool and everything else.

"But with Andoni Iraola coming in I'm not sure that Adam Wharton would be a top target for the Spaniard because of the style of play he put in place at Bournemouth.

"We’ve seen other clubs be busy in the market with midfielders. Obviously Spurs were linked with Wharton but now it looks like they're getting deals done from Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

"Palace are in box seat here, he’s under contract and obviously if other midfield targets are being signed by other clubs then it might see Wharton stay at Selhurst Park."

How do Crystal Palace feel about selling Wharton?

Crystal Palace's confidence of keeping Wharton at the club comes as they are determined to avoid too much upheaval with players leaving Selhurst Park after their change in manager.

The midfielder is not the only one being linked with a move away as speculation continues to surround the likes of Maxence Lacroix, but speculation has not faded.

Brown told Football Insider in May that Crystal Palace will not be easy to negotiate with over Wharton, and they hope to drive up his asking price to deter any suitors.

Following their Conference League and FA Cup victories, and the role the midfielder played in that success, they are expected to demand a "huge" fee to let him go.

Given the money involved in deals for his competitors including Fernandes, Anderson and Tonali, they could be tempted to further up his price tag.