Manchester United legend Paul Scholes is left puzzled by the club’s snub of Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton.
The midfielder is a Blackburn native who began his career at Rovers before joining Palace on an £18 million transfer in January 2024.
The 22-year-old has gone on to establish himself as one of the most exciting midfielders in the Premier League, helping the Eagles win the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025.
Paul Scholes urges Man Utd to revive Adam Wharton interest
Due to his exploits at Selhurst Park, Wharton was expected to join a top club this summer, especially with the English elite all searching for new midfielders.
Throughout last season, the England international was constantly linked with Man Utd, with some sources identifying him as the second option on Jason Wilcox’s shortlist, behind Elliot Anderson.
However, his compatriot’s £116 million move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City has done little to boost his chances of joining Man Utd this summer.
Instead, the Red Devils bought Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48 million and recruited Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa after triggering his £35 million release clause, before halting their midfield plans for the time being and focusing on finding a new left-back.
For his part, Scholes has been left baffled, as he doesn’t see a viable reason for United to overlook the highly-regarded Wharton, especially after allowing Sandro Tonali to join Tottenham Hotspur.
“I can’t believe Manchester United are not trying to buy Adam Wharton,” complained the iconic midfielder during the most recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
“I think I’ve said on here before that Sandro Tonali would’ve been my first choice. But obviously with him gone now, Adam Wharton looks PERFECT for me.”
Wharton remains tied to Palace with a contract valid until the summer of 2029. Transfermarkt estimates his value at €70 million (or £60m), but he would likely command a larger fee.
Why Man United are overlooking Wharton
Even before the summer transfer window began, United’s interest in Wharton had waned compared with the start of the season.
Several sources have justified this U-turn by explaining that the club simply decided that the Blackburn native is too similar to Kobbie Mainoo.
(Stats via DataMB)
While both players are creative forces in their own right, they don’t truly fulfil the same functions on the pitch, which is illustrated by the metrics above. Mainoo often operates as a No.8 who tends to push forward, while Wharton plays in a deeper role, orchestrating the play from the centre of the pitch.
But perhaps the recruitment team judged that a combination of the two in the double pivot would be too light, hence why they preferred to go after a more physically imposing midfielder in Santos, and are still tipped to sign another holding midfielder, with Aurelien Tchouameni considered the ideal man for the role.
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