Report: Liverpool ready to splash out £70m on European trophy winner who’s ‘a joy to play with’

Liverpool are reportedly prepared to spend upwards of £70m on a Premier League midfielder this summer.

The Athletic‘s James Pearce has cited central midfield as a position which ‘needs to be addressed’ at Anfield in the transfer window, and the Reds appear to have their sights set on one man in particular.

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The Merseysiders have been linked with Adam Wharton over the past few months, with talkSPORT‘s Alex Crook claiming in April that the 22-year-old is ‘expected to leave’ Crystal Palace in the summer, and ex-Manchester United chief scout believes that LFC will be confident that they can land him.

Liverpool prepared to spend big to sign Wharton

According to a report for TEAMtalk on Wednesday, Liverpool have been ‘intensifying their work’ on a potential deal for the Eagles midfielder and believe that an agreement can be reached with the south London club, with Wharton said to be ‘eager’ about a prospective move to Anfield.

FSG are prepared to finance a deal worth more than £70m for the player if that’s what it’ll take to sign him, and although the Conference League winners aren’t under pressure to sell (his contract runs to 2029), Merseyside chiefs remain confident that a deal is achievable.

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Liverpool mustn’t hang about if they’re serious about signing Wharton

Hailed by ex-Palace teammate Eberechi Eze as ‘a joy to play with’ (BBC Sport), Wharton was named the official Player of the Match in his team’s Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano last month, which makes his omission from England’s World Cup squad seem all the more bewildering.

The 22-year-old is a well-rounded midfielder who excels at winning possession for his team and then using the ball to create danger in the final third, as evidenced by his statistics from the Premier League campaign in relation to positional peers (via Fotmob).

He’d also provide Liverpool with a proven high-level addition to their starting XI whilst still leaving two berths open for ‘non-homegrown’ additions during the summer transfer window, an important consideration when it comes to planning incoming activity.

We know from the infamous Marc Guehi saga that Palace can be tough negotiators, so if the Anfield hierarchy are indeed serious about signing Wharton, they ought to move quickly rather than banking on a cheaper deal in the final days of August.

It’ll take something particularly special from sporting director Richard Hughes to persuade the Eagles to part with the midfielder, but hopefully the apparent confidence from L4 doesn’t turn out to be misplaced.