‘I see him going to Man Utd’ – INEOS tipped to crush Chelsea in £80m midfielder chase

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel believes Manchester United will beat the likes of Chelsea to the big-money transfer of Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton next summer.

The 22-year-old has emerged as one of the best midfield talents in the Premier League since completing an £18million move from boyhood club Blackburn Rovers back in 2024.

Indeed, Wharton was a key figure in Palace’s success under Oliver Glasner, with the Eagles clinching the FA Cup, the Europa Conference League and last year’s Community Shield.

Speculation has ramped up on his future over the course of the last 18 months, with Man Utd credited with a strong interest during that time, alongside the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham.

To their credit, Palace have stood firm in the face of that interest and our sources reported towards the end of the summer window that Selhurst Park chiefs were not willing to sell for an offer below £78m and continue to value Wharton at around that £80m mark.

From United’s perspective, they have transformed their midfield engine room over the past few months, with Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba all arriving at Old Trafford to the tune of more than £130m.

But even after that big spending, Obi Mikel expects INEOS to return for Wharton again in a year’s time.

“I love him! I love Adam Wharton, I’m a big, big fan,” Obi Mikel said during a live Q&A with AFTV’s Robbie Lyle broadcast on The Obi One Podcast.

“I think he’s going to go places, though, I think next season he will leave Crystal Palace.

“I think they want to keep him for one more season and I see him going to Manchester United next season.”

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Mikel still wants Wharton at Chelsea

Asked if he would like to see Wharton join Xabi Alonso’s ranks at Stamford Bridge, Obi Mikel replied: “Listen, I’d want him at Chelsea.

“If he comes to Chelsea, absolutely fine, but there are so many good players in the Premier League.

“It comes down to: who finds the right formula that works for them? And I think that’s what we [Chelsea] need to find.

“Arsenal are fine, they’re settled, they know how they play, they know the system.

“For us [Chelsea], we have a new manager, we have some new players, we just need to make sure we start clicking.”