Adam Wharton could give Liverpool something Curtis Jones never could

Analysis

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Liverpool are stepping up their interest in Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton following the confirmation that the Anfield club have agreed a €35 million transfer fee to sell Curtis Jones to Inter Milan.

Jones’ departure after 16 years with the Reds, which Ben Jacobs has confirmed, is set to free up a fresh spot in the midfield that Andoni Iraola is ready to fill with Wharton, according to the Daily Mirror.

Liverpool’s new manager has reportedly given his blessing for the move to be completed in a deal that will free up Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai to be freer further up the field.

Compared

Adam Wharton

M (C)

C. Palace

Adam Wharton

M (C)

C. Palace

VS

Curtis Jones

M, DM (C), D (R)

Liverpool

Curtis Jones

M, DM (C), D (R)

Liverpool

€53M	ETV	€33.9M
€47.7M - €58.3M	ETV Range	€30.5M - €37.2M
22 years old (06 Feb, 2004)	Age	25 years old (30 Jan, 2001)
England	Nationality	England

Palace reportedly want a fee in the region of €90 million (£78m) for Wharton in what would be a club-record sale, eclipsing the €69m fee the Eagles received from Arsenal for Eberechi Eze last summer.

It’s unclear how close Liverpool are willing to come to that asking price, but the Anfield club has a history of big spending, with both Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz signing in deals worth upwards of €100m last summer.

This time around, it’s been a rather less spectacular transfer window, with Iraola offered only Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo to date as the rebuild of the 2024/25 Premier League champions begins to slowly take shape.

Wharton to bring a new dimension to Liverpool

Wharton may play the same position as Jones, but he has interpreted it very differently in the past.

The 22-year-old is a more dangerous presence from deep, at least in terms of his direct influence in creating opportunities for his team-mates. His involvement in the game is less in terms of volume and more about output, far exceeding both deep completions and expected assists (xA) compared to other Premier League midfielders last season.

Jones, on the other hand, was more about a high volume of passes and carrying the ball forwards.

What does this mean for Liverpool this season?

Wharton will offer a solid presence in front of the defence who is capable of unpicking opponents from deep areas. For Liverpool’s speedy forward line, which will be spearheaded by Alexander Isak, this is great news for exploiting counterattacks.

Equally, though, he will also allow Szoboszlai to explore the forward areas, which the Hungary star did so adeptly at stages last season before he was forced to move into a makeshift right-back role due to the club’s injury crisis.

A return of one goal and seven assists across 53 appearances in all competitions last season does scant justice to the impact that Wharton had on Palace, with data analytics firm SciSports rating his performance among the best in the Premier League last season – and certainly well ahead of Jones.

In a transfer window that has seen the likes of Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali move for more than €100m, this would be a very shrewd piece of business from Liverpool.

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