Adam Wharton’s agent James Featherstone has revealed what’s next for the Crystal Palace star.
The midfielder has developed well since moving to Selhurst Park from Blackburn Rovers and has been linked with Manchester United.
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He played a huge role in Palace winning the first trophy in their history, the FA Cup.
He is an important part of Oliver Glasner’s team, but it could be difficult to keep him.
Speaking to The Pitch Prospect’s Sam Matterface and Gabby Agbonlahor, Featherstone revealed how he is trying to further Wharton’s career.
From the start he believed that Wharton could become a regular in England.
He said: “I was sitting in his brother’s kitchen and Adam hadn’t even made his debut for Blackburn Rovers yet.”
“There were doubts about his physicality but we said: ‘Let’s aim for the stars. He can play for England.’
“So what do you have to do to play for England? Well, you have to play in the Champions League.”
“To play in the Champions League you have to play for one of the top teams in one of the top leagues.
“He was at Blackburn Rovers at the time, so the easiest way would have been to get into Blackburn’s team and then get promoted to the Premier League, because you can lose the jump to a Champions League team at a young age.”
“So the plan behind the Champions League was the Premier League and at the time Blackburn were in or around the play-offs.”
“Ultimately they ended up at the other end of the league and then the move to Crystal Palace happened. We had lots of different options.”
“But I absolutely knew Palace was the right environment. We had players in the dressing room who understood the culture and believed this would be the perfect step for him on this journey.”
“Next month it will be two years and having won an FA Cup and playing for England, that’s what you take with you and what you run with.”
Specifically about Wharton’s future, he said: “We have a plan.”
“It doesn’t have to be achieved immediately.”
“He has his goals in the game and the season, so he has to do his part and the rest will take care of itself in a very structured and calm way to ultimately maximize his talent.”
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Wharton’s future
It’s clear that Wharton would like to play in the Champions League.
His agent said it in this interview and Steve Parish also confirmed it.
Although Palace have never played in UEFA’s elite competition, they currently sit fourth in the Premier League and are heavily involved in one of the biggest European ties in a long time.
However, if the Eagles fail to make it to the Champions League, things could develop for Wharton next summer, particularly if he features for England at the World Cup.
The 21-year-old joined Palace from Blackburn in January 2024 and there were multiple reports suggesting Man United would offer £60m for Wharton.
In truth, that feels pretty cheap when you look at player prices in the summer transfer window.
And it’s actually unclear how much the Eagles would ask Wharton.
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Another point is that Man United are behind Palace in the table and finished 15th last season.
There’s no guarantee they’ll get any European football at all this year, let alone the Champions League.
But Parish believes Wharton will soon want to join Europe’s elite.
Speaking to The Pitch Prospect, he said: “I think at some point Adam will either want to play with us in the Champions League if we manage to do that or probably with another club.”
“He’s an exceptional talent. I think I can’t speak for Adam at the moment but I think he’s focused on his time at Crystal Palace.”
Specifically about Man United, he said: “If Manchester United want Adam Wharton, that’s actually nothing surprising.
“The fact is that he has a long contract. There is no pressure on us to do this and I don’t think there is any real pressure on the player either.”