Ahead of a major tournament there is typically a clamour for the player of the moment to be included in the England squad, a chorus of calls from pundits and fans that is eventually answered. That was the case with Kobbie Mainoo earlier this year. On other occasions, you have a bolt from the blue that no one saw coming. That’s the best way to describe Adam Wharton’s call-up by Gareth Southgate for England’s provisional Euro 2024 squad.
Wharton has only been playing in the Premier League since February after a transfer deadline-day switch to Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers. It’s fair to say that many England supporters wouldn’t have heard of him until he made his debut against Brighton from the bench, and they certainly wouldn’t have been impressed by the end of the crushing 4-1 defeat.
But Wharton has kicked on under new Palace coach Oliver Glasner, playing a vital role in the Eagles’ flying finish to the season, in which they won six of their last seven matches, stunning Liverpool and embarrassing Manchester United in the process.
And now he has booted long-time England servant Jordan Henderson out of the squad and staked his claim to be included on the final 26-man roster for Germany. GOAL, then, charts the stunning and sudden rise of the soon-to-be England international…
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Where it all began
Wharton was born into a family of passionate Blackburn fans and joined the club’s academy at the age of six, following in the footsteps of his old brother Scott, who still plays for the club. He made his debut in a 1-0 defeat at home to Stoke City in August 2022 when he was aged 18.
Despite that disappointing start, Blackburn had an impressive season, only missing out on the Championship play-offs by one point. And Wharton was a big factor in their progress, making 18 appearances in the league while chipping in with two goals.
Wharton signed a five-year contract with Blackburn in December 2023, but that did not ward off interest from bigger clubs, and just a month later Palace made an approach for him. After a first offer was rejected, the two clubs agreed a fee of an initial £18 million ($23m), rising to £22m ($28m), and Wharton upped sticks to Selhurst Park.
The big break
Wharton quickly gained some composure after that rocky debut in the drubbing at Brighton, and his standout performance came at Anfield in April. He helped Palace end a five-game winless streak by pulling off an unlikely win over Liverpool, dealing a massive blow to Jurgen Klopp’s side’s title hopes in the process.
Wharton played a big role in Eberechi Eze scoring the only goal of the game, but his quality in midfield throughout the game shone through, and England greats Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were thoroughly impressed as they watched on.
“What a performance, he’s so calm on the ball, doesn’t give it away, never looks flustered, tracked back, looks good going forward, really good all-round game,” Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast.
Shearer added: “When I was at Blackburn they were telling me about him. They said they had to sell him for obvious reasons and they felt as if Palace had got a great deal, got him on the cheap. I understand why today. You watch him, he’s been really impressive. I thought he ran that midfield today when you consider who he was against and being at Anfield, that’s a pretty big thing. He was absolutely outstanding.”
How it’s going
The raid of Anfield was the beginning of Palace’s streak of six wins in seven games, and Wharton continued to excel, above all in the 4-0 demolition of Manchester United. He schooled Mainoo and Christian Eriksen in the Red Devils’ midfield, allowing his attacking team-mates Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise to do real damage. He registered his third assist of the campaign in his next game against Wolves, a 3-1 win, before his side hammered Aston Villa 5-0 on the final day.
And Wharton’s whirlwind campaign got even better when he was called up to the England preliminary squad by Southgate, offering him a chance to go to his first major tournament.
Biggest strengths
Wharton has the usual qualities you would expect of a holding midfielder, making the second-highest amount of tackles in the Palace squad this season and winning the second-most duels. But he is also a highly creative player.
“He’s stepped up so quick and is adapting to Premier League football and the intensity, the speed of the game,” Palace boss Glasner said in early May. “His decision-making, his pre-orientation, his solutions with one or two touches are amazing.”
Wharton’s former Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson said: “I saw the quality on the ball. He can do things that nobody sees before, he can play passes under pressure, he can play one-touch and he has great vision. On the ball, he’s Champions League level.”
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Room for improvement
Tomasson said Wharton needed to improve more off the ball, and Wharton agreed. Last year he told Scouted Notebook: “It was something I heard all throughout my academy life, that I didn’t work hard enough out of possession, the classic number 10.
“The higher up you go, your margin for error basically disappears. Every time you switch off, every time you’re a second late to track a runner – that can be punished. But it’s something I’ve really tried to work on since making the move up (to first-team football) and I think I’ve got a lot stronger out of possession.
“Even on the ball, there’s so much for me to improve on. Whether it’s the timing of my passing, the intention of my passing, you never stop. I’ve never been somebody who gets ahead of themselves.”
The next… Sergio Busquets?
Wharton has said he takes inspiration from many different players, but singled out Sergio Busquets and Rodri as the holding midfielders he admires the most.
“More casual watchers of the game probably won’t realise how much players like Busquets or Rodri affect the game, or how valuable they are,” he told Scouted Notebook. “That’s why I like to take different bits from lots of top players, but I’m my own player in my own way – and that’s just as important.”
At the moment, Wharton gets too few goals to be in the same category as Rodri, who finished the season with nine strikes and of course struck the only goal in the 2023 Champions League final. Busquets, who scored 11 times in 15 La Liga seasons for Barca, seems a more apt comparison for now.
What comes next?
Wharton will be looking to impress Southgate in training and then will be eyeing England’s first pr-tournament friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 3 at St James’ Park as the match in which he can make his international debut. He will have his work cut out in making the 26-man squad and going to Germany, but he does have the advantage in that there are few direct competitors for his position in holding midfield.
Even if he doesn’t make the final cut, he can look forward to his first full season with Palace, who are certain to be a force to be reckoned with after their sensational end to the campaign. But don’t expect him to stick around at Selhurst Park for too long. As Tomasson put it, he has Champions League potential, and Europe’s top clubs will come calling soon enough.
