Manchester City are interested in signing Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton, as Pep Guardiola tries to end his team’s midfield conundrum.
Since Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in October which ruled him out for the remainder of the season, the Cityzens have struggled to control games. They have been outclassed and overrun in the middle of the park in several games of late, with Pep Guardiola suffering the worst run of form in his career—just one win in nine matches across all competitions.
The Spanish tactician has used Ilkay Gundogan, Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic to fill in for the injured Rodri but to no effect. As a result, he wants to splash the cash in January to sign a deep-lying playmaker.
Man City are reportedly keen on the highly rated Adam Wharton and could sweeten the deal for Crystal Palace by offering James McAtee to them. The Eagles are interested in securing the services of James McAtee, who is valued at £25 million by City.
Is Adam Wharton—James McAtee swap on the cards?
Man City are royally struggling for form of late, managing only win in last nine games. They dropped more points in the title race following a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park at the weekend.
Guardiola continues to experiment with his midfield, though, with the City boss constantly switching players from game to game. But it seems a fresh midfield talent could be eyed by the defending English champions, with one current Premier League star catching Guardiola’s eye.
City are already showing an interest in Wharton, who arrived at Palace from Blackburn Rovers at the start of 2024. Regarded as one of the hottest young English talents, Wharton has been impressive for the Eagles. He was one of the chief figures for the South London club finishing the last season on a high note. This resulted in him also being included in the England squad for the Euros 2024.
While Wharton’s form has dipped a bit amidst Palace’s struggles this season, he clearly remains a big talent and Guardiola wants to have him in his squad in January. However, the central midfielder is valued at £60 million, which City want to bring down by offering Palace McAtee in return.
McAtee is yet to start a Premier League game this season as he finds himself way below in the midfield pecking order at the Etihad Stadium. Oliver Glasner could certainly use attacking reinforcements after a poor start to the campaign, and someone like McAtee would be a fantastic long-term acquisition.
The creative Englishman, who spent the last two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, is unlikely to get regular game time at City and a move to Palace would be ideal for him as well. That said, it will be interesting to see if Palace are willing to accept a Wharton plus cash swap for McAtee.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
