Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United to make a move for Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton this summer. The midfielder has caught the eye since arriving at Selhurst Park in January 2024.
His performances after his move from Blackburn Rovers led to a call-up for the England squad for Euro 2024. The 21-year-old has been hampered by injury this season though, having been forced to have surgery on a groin problem in November.
That kept him out of action until February and he is still working his way back to his best. Even so, several top teams have grown interested in signing him, including Real Madrid and Liverpool.
The youngster still has another four years to run on his contract though, with Palace expected to demand a fee of £100million for him. Despite that likely hefty price tag, Ferdinand believes Wharton could be the solution to United’s midfield issues.
The former defender urged the Red Devils to make signing Wharton a priority. And he also tipped Wolves star Matheus Cunha for a move to Old Trafford following his starring season at Molineux.
“I would sign another central midfielder this summer to play alongside Manuel Ugarte,” Ferdinand said on his Rio Ferdinand Presents show. “That player needs to be able to take the ball and transfer it up the pitch. You know who I would go for? Adam Wharton.
“I would go get him. The reason I would take him is he can get on the ball and transfer it up the pitch. He’s got a great range of passing. I think he would be a great addition to the United squad – and he reminds me of Michael Carrick a bit.
“Another one I’d buy is Cunha. He’s made it clear he wants to leave, I would buy him if I was Manchester United. Cunha for one of those No. 10 positions would be great, because he’s a really dynamic player.”
Wharton has only been fit enough to make 12 Premier League starts this season, though did help Palace to reach the FA Cup semi-finals a fortnight ago. And the Englishman has admitted he is still building himself back.
“I’m still not where I want to be fitness-wise. I haven’t played a full 90 minutes since I have been back,” Wharton told BBC Sport recently. “I’m getting there each game but feeling better within myself and feeling like I can move more freely.
“We have the togetherness as a group. We know that if we play how we can play then we can beat any team. You can’t get too ahead of yourself. It’s easy to take from a 90-minute game two minutes of good things or two minutes of bad things.
“You just have to keep level-headed and go into every game as though nothing has happened and it’s a fresh start. I’ve never really come out of a game thinking ‘[I’m] satisfied with my performance’. I’ve not had a perfect performance, I probably never will.
“Sometimes you might think ‘I’ve done pretty well’, but then I always think ‘I could have done this better, I could have done that’. I will watch them and it’s usually just the good clips so it’s pretty good to watch. I always know that there’s somewhere I have not done the right thing.”
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