Sources: Chelsea increasingly keen on potential £80m transfer after Man City development

As first published via the Daily Briefing, Chelsea are showing a strong interest in the potential transfer of Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.

The Blues were keen on strengthening in midfield in the summer as they looked for a replacement for Enzo Fernandez, but Wharton wasn’t available and hasn’t been pushing for a move.

Manchester City also enquired about Wharton at one point in the summer, but will now surely be out of the race after strengthening with Fernandez, Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Elliot Anderson.

My understanding is that there have previously been internal disagreements about how good a fit Adam Wharton would be for Chelsea. Although the west London giants have had the England international firmly on their radar for some time, he was not right at the top of their list this summer due to concerns about how well he’d perform in Xabi Alonso’s tactical set-up.

Could Adam Wharton fit in at Chelsea?

Alonso tends to play variations of a 3-4-3, which means just two central midfield players, and therefore a lot of physical demands on the duo occupying those positions.

Wharton has so far mostly played in something more closely resembling a midfield three for both Palace and England, and his game is more about getting on the ball and playing line-breaking passes than trying to be an all-round box-to-box player.

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Another player Chelsea have looked closely at is Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, but he won’t be available until summer 2027 and could be more expensive at £100m or more.

By contrast, Wharton looks set to be available for a fee in the region of £80m this January, according to some sources.

It will be interesting to see what CFC do, but there is an increased urgency to strengthen in the middle of the park, even if there hasn’t previously been unanimous backing for Wharton.

The 22-year-old has also been on the radar of Liverpool, though they are now understood to be focusing on Monaco’s Lamine Camara, who is no longer a priority for Chelsea after a Deadline Day move collapsed.