Second Crystal Palace signing makes ‘world-class’ claim as Eagles announce £22m arrival

Adam Wharton has revealed his big plans at Crystal Palace after the South London club confirmed his signing from Blackburn Rovers.

Crystal Palace began the bidding for Wharton at £18.5million, only to see this proposal get knocked back by Blackburn. The Championship club set a £22m asking price for their highly rated midfielder, and Palace eventually met this with a second offer on Tuesday.

Sources confirmed to TEAMtalk that Wharton underwent a Palace medical on Tuesday, and the Eagles have now been able to announce his arrival at Selhurst Park.

Palace have tied the England U20 international down to a long-term contract lasting until June 2029.

Reacting to the deal, Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “I’m delighted that Adam, a player whose rapid development we have followed closely, has decided to join us at Crystal Palace.

“Adam’s consistently impressive performances for Blackburn at such a young age have understandably caught the eye of many a club, but we believe Palace to be – as has so often been the case in recent years – the perfect place to harness his undoubted potential, and we look forward to working with him in the years ahead to do so.”

When asked about the move, Wharton explained how he aims to become ‘world-class’ by continuing his exciting development at Palace, in a possible nod to Ebere Eze and Michael Olise.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the Premier League and to play for such a big club like Crystal Palace is a great honour,” he said.

“The way they’ve brought players from the Championship and developed them into world-class players in the Premier League is something that stood out to me, and it’s a big reason why I wanted to come here.”

The 19-year-old, who came through the Blackburn academy, becomes Palace’s second signing of the winter window. Earlier this week they captured Colombian right-back Daniel Munoz from Genk for £6.8m.