Liverpool Urged to Sign Adam Wharton for Midfield Depth

Phil Thompson has urged Liverpool to throw their weight behind a move for Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton this summer, warning that the club is heading into the new season dangerously light in central midfield.

Liverpool’s Midfield Alarm

Curtis Jones is on his way to Italy, with the academy graduate set to swap Merseyside for Milan and join Inter. His departure strips another layer from a midfield group that already looked fragile.

As it stands, Liverpool will kick off the 2026/27 campaign at St. James’ Park on Sunday with just three senior central midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.

Szoboszlai carried the load last season, finishing as Liverpool’s men’s player of the year. Mac Allister and Gravenberch went the other way. Both struggled to hit their previous levels under Arne Slot, and now must adapt again to the demands of new manager Andoni Iraola.

The style Iraola wants is intense, front-foot, unforgiving. The schedule will be packed. Heading into that kind of season with only three established central midfielders is, in Thompson’s eyes, asking for trouble.

Wharton at the Top of the List

Wharton has hovered around Liverpool’s radar for some time. Manchester City recently tested Palace’s resolve with an inquiry for the England international and were quickly knocked back.

Palace want to keep him. Thompson thinks Liverpool should be trying to change their minds.

Speaking on the BOYLE Sports and Footy Accumulators podcast, No Tippy Tappy Football, the former Liverpool defender made his stance clear.

“Adam Wharton is a player that I would be interested in signing for Liverpool,” he said. “I can’t understand why nobody, in all this transfer merry-go-round, has picked him up this summer.

“He is one that you talk about in terms of having good character. At a football club, besides talent, you need people of good sort, and I've always looked at Wharton and thought he's a good character.

“I think he’s probably the next player Crystal Palace will have to sell, because they have to sell one a year for big money.”

At 22, Wharton fits the profile Liverpool have often targeted: technically sound, tactically mature, with room to grow and the temperament to handle a step up. For Thompson, that combination makes him exactly the kind of midfielder Iraola should be given.

Big Names In, Big Gaps Still There

While the club wrestles with Paris Saint-Germain over winger Bradley Barcola, Liverpool’s business has not stood still.

Defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo have arrived, along with winger Victor Munoz, giving Iraola three fresh faces before the trip to Newcastle. They add height, aggression and pace to a squad that needed all three.

Thompson, though, sees a bigger picture. For him, those signings are a start, not the solution.

“Liverpool still need four, maybe five, players in different positions,” he said. “Defensively, certainly; maybe a midfield player and a wide player too, because you need two quality players for every position.

“We had a massive spend last season and everybody's saying, ‘how can they do it?’ You look at the investment we get into our football clubs, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. When you see them traveling the world, it shows that they're the two biggest football clubs in the world.”

The message is blunt. Liverpool cannot lean on reputation and commercial power alone. If they want to live in the same bracket as the very best on the pitch, they need depth, competition, and a midfield built to withstand Iraola’s demands.

Wharton, in Thompson’s view, is not a luxury. He’s the kind of signing that decides whether Liverpool chase titles or simply try to keep up.