Crystal Palace have a reported gentleman’s agreement with Adam Wharton that would allow him to leave Selhurst Park this summer if a Champions League club submits a bid in the region of £60 to £65 million.
TEAMtalk confirmed the agreement in February, and with both Manchester United and Liverpool qualifying for next season’s Champions League, the conditions for a sale have now been met.
Wharton, 22, arrived at Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers for £18 million in February 2024 and has spent two seasons developing into one of the Premier League’s most composed young midfielders.
He played a central role in Palace’s FA Cup triumph the previous season, earned four senior England caps, and is expected to be part of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad this summer.
A strong tournament in North America would further inflate his market value and add urgency to the clubs tracking him, since the window closes before October and no elite club wants to miss him.
Manchester United see Wharton as the natural successor to Casemiro, whose contract expired this summer, with Carrick’s staff having tracked the midfielder throughout the current campaign as part of their midfield overhaul planning.
Liverpool are equally serious and would pay the full £65 million if required, meaning the summer race for Wharton is essentially a straight duel between two of English football’s most powerful clubs.
Co-owner Steve Parish confirmed publicly that a sale would be considered if the money was right and the destination offered Champions League football, which both United and Liverpool can provide next season.
Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison acknowledged the realistic outcome: “I kind of get, if the right offer came in, then Palace might have to say, well, 60, 70 million coming for Adam Wharton, we might have to take it.”
The gentleman’s agreement structure means Wharton departs with goodwill rather than through a forced exit, protecting Palace’s reputation as a club that develops and releases players without unnecessary bitterness.
Palace simultaneously lose manager Oliver Glasner at the end of his contract, meaning the club must replace both their head coach and their most coveted outfield asset at the same time.
How quickly United or Liverpool submit a formal offer after June 15 will determine whether this transfer resolves cleanly or drags into the kind of extended saga that disrupts pre-season preparations for everyone involved.