Liverpool Targets Adam Wharton as Iraola Era Begins
Liverpool’s reset under Andoni Iraola is already taking shape – and the next target sits at the heart of Crystal Palace’s midfield.
According to GIVEMESPORT’s Ben Jacobs, the Anfield hierarchy “really appreciate” Adam Wharton and are actively keeping tabs on the 20-year-old, as they prepare for a summer that could reshape the spine of the team.
From Slot shock to Iraola’s blueprint
The decision to sack Arne Slot, a title-winning manager in his first Premier League season, jolted the club. The appointment of Iraola, confirmed soon after, signalled something else: this is not a gentle evolution. It is a hard reset.
Liverpool regressed sharply in the 2025-26 campaign, slipping from champions to a side that looked brittle, especially without the control and intensity that once defined them. The board’s response is clear – back the new man heavily and early.
That backing is needed. Three pillars of recent years have gone. Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté have all departed, leaving holes in leadership, quality and personality. The squad suddenly looks lighter, not only in experience but in depth.
Wharton on the radar
Amid the search for firepower and defensive reinforcements, Liverpool’s gaze has turned to the middle of the pitch. Jacobs, speaking on talkSPORT, dropped the key line: “Keep an eye on central midfield. Adam Wharton is a player really appreciated by Liverpool.”
That interest fits the pattern of the summer. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister struggled to hit previous levels during a flat 2025-26, while Dominik Szoboszlai has become one of the first names on the team sheet. The balance behind and around him, though, still feels unsettled.
Wharton, under contract at Selhurst Park for another three years, has been one of Palace’s standout performers. Oliver Glasner went as far as to call him “one of the best midfielders in the world” in recent weeks – a bold statement, but one that reflects how central he has become to Palace’s play.
Selhurst Park will stage Europa League football next season, yet that hasn’t stopped speculation around Wharton’s future, especially after he missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. For an ambitious young midfielder, that snub could sharpen thoughts about his next step.
Wide open: Liverpool’s flanks and the Diomande chase
The most glaring weakness in Liverpool’s squad sits out wide. Salah’s exit has left a chasm on the right, both in goals and sheer threat. Behind him, the options are raw. Rio Ngumoha, just 17, is still feeling his way into first-team life, a talent to nurture rather than a burden to carry a title challenge.
Liverpool have already moved to address that. Talks are under way over a deal for RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old earmarked as the club’s preferred successor to Salah. Some reports suggest personal terms are already agreed, but Leipzig are holding firm on a valuation north of £100m.
The message from Germany is blunt: pay the price or walk away.
Big money, bigger expectations
Liverpool have already shown they are willing to operate at the very top end of the market. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak arrived last summer as £100m-plus signings, headline deals that underlined the club’s intent to stay among Europe’s elite.
That spending pattern is unlikely to soften. Diomande will command a fee well in excess of £100m if Leipzig get their way. On top of that, Liverpool have been linked with Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League winner Bradley Barcola and Bournemouth winger Rayan, both valued at more than £100m by their clubs.
This is not tinkering. It is a full-scale rebuild of Iraola’s attack.
Defence exposed, midfield next
While the forward line draws the headlines, the numbers at the back tell their own story. Liverpool conceded a record-high Premier League tally for the club this season, a stark indictment of their structure and discipline without the ball.
Reinforcements in defence are expected, but the club’s interest in Wharton hints at a deeper diagnosis. The problem is not only at centre-back; it starts with control in midfield. Win the ball higher, keep it better, protect the back line – Iraola’s philosophy demands a certain type of midfielder, one comfortable dictating tempo and aggressive in the press.
Wharton fits that profile. Palace know it. Liverpool know it. The question is how hard they push, and at what price.
Liverpool’s summer is already shaping into a high-stakes puzzle: replace icons, repair a leaky defence, refresh a misfiring midfield and hand Iraola a squad capable of matching his intensity. If Wharton is part of that solution, the first real statement of the new era may come not on the touchline, but in the heart of the pitch.
