Liverpool Targets Adam Wharton as Curtis Jones Heads to Inter

Liverpool’s midfield is being ripped up and reimagined – and Adam Wharton is fast moving to the top of the wishlist.

With Curtis Jones finalising a switch to Inter Milan, Andoni Iraola has turned his attention to Crystal Palace’s gifted 22-year-old, pushing the club to accelerate a move for a player viewed inside Anfield as a natural fit for his evolving side.

Jones out, Wharton in the crosshairs

Jones’ exit is no longer a theory. Fabrizio Romano has already delivered his trademark “here we go”, confirming a verbal agreement between Liverpool and Inter on a package worth around €35m, with personal terms settled and medical tests scheduled. The midfielder has been filmed arriving in Milan to close out the deal.

His departure leaves a gap in Liverpool’s engine room. Iraola and the recruitment team do not intend to leave it open for long.

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are “targeting an ambitious move” for Wharton as a direct response to losing Jones. Sources close to the agents’ market have indicated the club are ready to step up their pursuit, with Iraola giving his approval to the plan.

The Basque coach is understood to be drawn to Wharton’s ability to dictate games from deeper areas, a trait that could unlock more aggressive roles for Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. Control at the base, freedom ahead of it – that is the vision.

Palace dig in over £78m valuation

Liverpool’s interest is clear. Landing Wharton is anything but.

Crystal Palace have no intention of making this easy. The Eagles are reluctant to cash in on a player they only signed in January and who has already grown into one of the most composed young midfielders in the Premier League. Their valuation, around £78m, underlines that stance.

At that price, this is no opportunistic raid. It is a test of how far Liverpool are willing to go, especially in a summer when they are already heavily committed in other areas of the pitch.

A summer of change at Anfield

The Jones deal is only one strand of a sweeping rebuild.

Liverpool have already moved early in the market, tying up permanent deals for Victor Munoz from Osasuna and Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes. At the back, Ronald Araujo has arrived on a season-long loan from Barcelona to add power and personality to the defence.

Up front, the search has been even more intense. With Mohamed Salah gone to Trabzonspor at the end of last season, Liverpool’s attack has lost its defining figure. The club have been working for weeks on a move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, a negotiation that has dragged but not disappeared.

Against that backdrop, Wharton is not a luxury. He is part of a wider reset.

Wharton’s rise and Rice’s verdict

If there were any doubts about Wharton’s readiness for a club of Liverpool’s size, Declan Rice has already offered a forceful counterargument.

Speaking in June 2024 about his new England team-mate, Rice did not hold back. He called Wharton “outstanding”, highlighting how much he had impressed in training with the national side. Rice praised his composure and calm on the ball, his “beautiful left foot” and “really crisp passing”, and described him as a grounded, hungry learner.

Rice also underlined the scale of Wharton’s leap: half a season in the Championship, then a move to Crystal Palace, and within months a place on the plane to his first European Championships at just 20. On the pitch, Rice saw a player unfazed by the stage, someone “ready when called upon”.

Those are the sort of references that make elite clubs move quickly.

The next big call

Liverpool now face a familiar dilemma: push hard for a primary target at a premium fee, or pivot to a cheaper alternative.

With Jones bound for Serie A, Salah gone, and Iraola reshaping the team’s structure, this is not just about numbers in midfield. It is about identity. Do Liverpool back their conviction in Wharton’s talent and pay Palace’s price, or walk away and risk watching another club build around a player many inside the England camp already believe is built for the top?

The answer to that question will say plenty about how bold this new Liverpool era is prepared to be.