Crystal Palace could have secured the biggest coup of January by beating Tottenham to Adam Wharton

Crystal Palace signed Adam Wharton from Blackburn Rovers on deadline day for £22m including add-ons in what could prove to be a major coup. 

The 19-year-old midfielder was a fan favourite at Blackburn, with supporters describing him as one of the best young talents Blackburn have ever produced.

Wharton broke into the Rovers team last season and quickly became one of their important players. He made 51 appearances in total for the Lancashire club, scoring four goals and making five assists in the process.

An extremely promising English midfielder, Wharton typically plays in a box-to-box role and has the stamina and work rate to be effective at both ends of the pitch.

He boasts fantastic technical ability, is good with both feet and has the vision to make key passes in behind the opposition defence with the perfect weight and timing. He averaged 1.3 key passes per game in the Championship.

Wharton reads the game well from a defensive point of view, too, making 2.3 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game.

The England under-20s international is only expected to improve as he gains experience but also looks ready to play a role for Palace in the Premier League this season.

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Crystal Palace: ‘the perfect place to harness potential’

Palace have a history of developing young talented players and that was a big reason why Wharton decided to join them over other suitors.

As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Tottenham and Everton had also registered an interest in the midfielder.

“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,” Wharton said in an interview after his move.  

“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.”

Palace have brought in the likes of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise from Championship clubs and they have become two of the most exciting players in the top flight.

Eze received his first England cap in June last year and has a good chance of playing in the Euros later this year.

Playing for the Three Lions is certainly something that Wharton will have his eye on and impressing in the Premier League will be a big step in achieving that.

Palace chairman Steve Parish gave his reaction to the club bringing in Wharton on Thursday.

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

“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.”

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