{"id":50042,"date":"2026-07-12T02:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T06:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/source-chelsea-involved-in-signing-highly-rated-22-year-old-midfielder\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T02:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T06:05:09","slug":"source-chelsea-involved-in-signing-highly-rated-22-year-old-midfielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/source-chelsea-involved-in-signing-highly-rated-22-year-old-midfielder\/","title":{"rendered":"Source: Chelsea &#8216;involved&#8217; in signing highly-rated 22-year-old midfielder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/source-chelsea-involved-in-signing-highly-rated-22-year-old-midfielder\/#Adam_Wharton_linked_with_top_club\" >Adam Wharton linked with top club<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/source-chelsea-involved-in-signing-highly-rated-22-year-old-midfielder\/#Can_Chelsea_sign_Wharton\" >Can Chelsea sign Wharton?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso watches before the La Liga EA Sports match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis Balompi\u00e9 at Estadio Santiago Bernab\u00e9u on January 4, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Adam Wharton&#8217;s situation changed rapidly after emerging as one of the Premier League&#8217;s most popular midfielders at the start of the summer window.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The club, which was preparing to make a major investment in midfield, has since adjusted its priorities, with Crystal Palace&#8217;s high valuation proving a crucial stumbling block in any potential deal.<\/p>\n<p><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Adam_Wharton_linked_with_top_club\"><\/span>Adam Wharton linked with top club<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Tottenham were one of the most ardent fans, but Spurs withdrew from the race after spending \u00a3185m on Matheus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Their withdrawal will remove one of their major competitors from the market.<\/p>\n<p>According to sources, <em><strong>catch off side<\/strong><\/em>    Liverpool are also said to have cooled their interest. The Reds were poised to break the \u00a370m mark in mid-June, but internal changes to their recruitment strategy put a pause on the move. As Liverpool&#8217;s pursuit faded, Crystal Palace became increasingly confident of retaining Wharton.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester United&#8217;s stance has similarly weakened. They are deterred by the rising fees charged to players listed in Wharton&#8217;s profile. Palace are expected to demand a sum in line with the \u00a3116m deal Manchester City signed for Anderson, a figure that has deterred several suitors.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Want more catchoffside coverage? Add us <\/i><\/b><b><i><span draggable=\"true\">Google recommended sources<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>    Add trusted news to your favorites list<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_Chelsea_sign_Wharton\"><\/span>Can Chelsea sign Wharton?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Chelsea remain &#8220;involved&#8221; and are in contact with Wharton&#8217;s representatives to explore possible terms. Still, given the current market environment, Palace&#8217;s valuation and the departure of other major clubs, a short-term breakthrough is unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>What was once expected to be a fierce bidding war has instead slowed dramatically. Momentum regarding Wharton&#8217;s future has waned due to high financial demands and changing priorities among top clubs. Palace look increasingly likely to keep the player, but given the financial pressures and possible future developments, the situation is not completely resolved.<\/p>\n<p>The 22-year-old is currently one of the best young players in the Premier League, but Crystal Palace&#8217;s demands will need to be reasonable for a move to go ahead.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso watches before the La Liga EA Sports match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis Balompi\u00e9 at Estadio Santiago Bernab\u00e9u on January 4, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images) Adam Wharton&#8217;s situation changed rapidly after emerging as one of the Premier League&#8217;s most popular midfielders [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-50042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}