Liverpool exploring move to sign £80m “cheat code” in Sadio Mane repeat

Liverpool don’t have much to play for as the 2025/26 campaign winds down. Out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, the Reds are focused on boarding the train into Europe’s elite competition.

This has been a tough year for Arne Slot and his squad, who have paled in comparison to last year’s Premier League-winning standard. However, Chelsea and co have also been poor, and thus, Liverpool sit pretty in fourth place, eight points ahead of sixth-place Brighton & Hove Albion.

Last weekend’s win over Crystal Palace consolidated Liverpool’s position in the top four, and goals from Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will have pleased FSG after a combined £240m outlay on the attacking pair last summer.

However, Liverpool need to invest once again, and while forward additions are needed, the midfield has left too much to be desired this term, and needs a freshen-up.

Liverpool targeting Premier League midfielder

Less than three years ago, Jurgen Klopp and Jorg Schmadtke rewired Liverpool’s midfield. Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo arrived.

Szoboszlai has comfortably been Liverpool’s star player this season, but he’s been a diamond among coals this season, with the others flattering to deceive.

In particular, Mac Allister has been abject so far below his usual standards. His future is uncertain, and so is that of boyhood Liverpool fan Curtis Jones, heightening the need for new recruits in the engine room.

Well, according to Anfield Watch, Liverpool officials have been hard at work compiling a summer shortlist, and as they whittle that list down, Adam Wharton has emerged as a leading contender as they explore options.

The England international, 22, has been exceptional for Crystal Palace, who won the FA Cup last season and may lift the Conference League in one month’s time.

He would be eager to progress his career and move to a club like Liverpool, but Palace are not going to let him go for a small fee, listing the maestro at £80m.

It’s revealed that scouts have been exploring his game ever since he broke through at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.

Why Adam Wharton could be perfect for Liverpool

Liverpool often hit the jackpot when identifying talented players from Premier League rivals. Were the Reds to succeed in their bid for Wharton this summer, it might be a deal that echoes the one-time signing of Sadio Mane from Southampton.

That might sound strange, but Mane established himself as one of the most talented forwards in the Premier League before moving to Klopp’s Liverpool in a £34m deal. Manchester United were also interested, but Anfield was the destination for the Senegalese legend.

Liverpool could repeat that by signing Wharton, who is actually on the Red Devils’ radar too, bringing one of the Premier League’s brightest talents up onto the grandest stage.

He’s ready for the step up, having shown at Anfield last weekend that he can outshine Slot’s midfielders. Some may harbour reservations over Wharton’s lack of physicality, but he won duels and progressed play forwards. Signing him would give rise to Wirtz and Isak’s latent attacking abilities.

Sometimes, such a signing is what you need. This was certainly the case for Mane, who arrived before Mohamed Salah and scored 120 goals across Liverpool’s richest era in modern history, not just fleet footwork but devastating attacking instincts and an intelligence that is rare to find.

Wharton might not be an attacker, but he shares a quick-thinking approach when on the ball and under pressure. Indeed, he has been hailed as a “cheat code” for his passing by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Would he be worth the £80m outlay? Wharton might not be the finished article, but he would bring something unique to Liverpool’s midfield, and, moreover, he has the right style for ‘Slotball’, perhaps the key to bringing Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League and out on the continent too.

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