Manchester City identify 20-year-old Premier League midfielder as long-term transfer target: Reports
Manchester City have identified 20-year-old Premier League midfielder Adam Wharton as a long-term transfer target for the club. This comes after the Crystal Palace star debuted for the England national team in their friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He impressed in his debut for the Three Lions, coming on in the second half and completing 100 percent of his passes. This led head coach Gareth Southgate to praise the 20-year-old highly, talking about his quality after the game.
Southgate said (via Standard):
“[England] have been short of these types of players for seven or eight years, if I am honest. There's no question he's impressed us. We saw things in his performances for his club that showed [here]. The other players have recognised his quality very quickly.”
His entrance into the Three Lions squad came after impressive outings with Blackburn and Crystal Palace. He spent the first half of the campaign with Rovers, playing 26 games in the Championship before moving to Selhurst Park and playing 16 Premier League games.
Manchester City has also recognized Wharton's quality, and according to a report from Standard, they have marked him as a future signing. The Cityzens see him as one of the next steps in what could be a midfield revamp in the coming years, as rumors claim that players like Kevin de Bruyne could move to Saudi Arabia.
They will have to wait a while to make their move though, as Crystal Palace have made it clear that they have no intentions of letting him leave Selhurst Park.
Gareth Southgate speaks on dropping Manchester City star from EURO squad
England boss Gareth Southgate recently opened up about Manchester City winger Jack Grealish's omission from the final Three Lions' squad for EURO 2024. It came as a shocker, particularly because Grealish has been a regular feature in the England shirt, making 36 senior caps.
Southgate has now explained his decision to leave the Man City star out of the squad (via Manchester World):
“We just feel other players had stronger seasons, particularly in the last six months or so. Attacking areas, in particular, we’re blessed with a lot of options, all slightly different.
“Madders [James Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] both give us something different as well. They’ve been tough calls, calls that we as a group have gone over and over and over. We back our decisions, but recognise we could have gone a different route.”
Grealish will hope to improve his playing time in the coming season, after featuring in just 20 Premier League games last season.