£70m English star eager to sign for Liverpool

Liverpool are off to a flyer at the World Cup, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Virgil van Dijk making big contributions during the first round of group stage fixtures.

Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch also looked refreshed in the middle of the park, and there’s a sense that a page has been turned after such a dismal campaign. Arne Slot earned his flowers after that emphatic first year, but he had to depart. And he did depart, making way for Andoni Iraola.

Whether the Iraola era proves a success remains to be seen, but we know his arrival gives rise to a more intense and active style of football.

FSG must ensure the new boss has the requisite tools available to tackle the 2026/27 campaign, and they have started off to a flyer, hijacking Newcastle United’s move for Victor Munoz.

Premier League star wants to join Liverpool

Munoz will join Liverpool in a deal worth £35m. The Spanish winger prefers the left side, which means a deal for Yan Diomande is still on for the Anfield side, who have been transparent in their desire for multiple attacking signings this summer.

Liverpool need more than just forwards, though. In midfield, Arne Slot’s tenure collapsed last term, with Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister well below their previous standards.

Iraola needs a fluent and progressive central operator, and FSG are ready to give him a Premier League star to charge his system.

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are confident that Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton wants to join them this summer, eager to work under Iraola at Anfield. Liverpool are willing to pay at least £70m for his signature.

Wharton, 23, is one of the Eagles’ biggest stars, but now that Oliver Glasner has departed, this could be the right time for the England international, who was overlooked by Thomas Tuchel for this summer’s World Cup.

Even so, this is not going to be an easy or low-cost deal for the Merseysiders, who are already active, and must make sure spending does not devolve into splurging.

Why Wharton can be Liverpool’s most exciting summer signing

Wharton might cost a pretty penny, but he is undoubtedly one of the most talented midfielders in the Premier League, and he has a playing style that would allow him to dovetail right into Iraola’s anticipated system.

Munoz is exciting, but Wharton is more thrilling still, someone who can make a real difference at Liverpool, now a multi-title-winning champion with Crystal Palace, one of the most prized midfielders in the Premier League.

Wharton passes like a maestro. Munoz boasts the Spanish flair developed and expressed under the baking Barcelona sun. Those young years made him into the player he is today, but Wharton seems to have captured some of that Mediterranean magic, the boy from Blackburn.

Lauded as a “cheat code” on the ball by analyst and scout Ben Mattinson, Wharton’s impact would be significant. He would help Liverpool progress forward and he would help them build up from the back. Fluid build-up play has not been easy for the Anfield side over the last year, ‘Slotball’ not so much measured as meandering its way from side to side, side to side, side to side.

Liverpool have become repetitive and monotonous. Ineffective. Sort of like a ticking clock whose alarm has broken. There has been no ignition and spark from the Reds, none of the fast and furious football that defined Jurgen Klopp’s era and yet has transcended even him, becoming something deeper and more important to this club.

Wharton would bring the rhythm back to Anfield all right. This is a midfielder who knows how to pass a ball. He ranked among the top 5% of Premier League midfielders for big chances created last season, finding his man with whipped deliveries and breaking lines with surgical precision.

What’s more, Wharton ranks highly for ball recoveries and possession-winning metrics in the final third. He is known as a deep-lying midfielder, but he is deceptively athletic, invariably mobile and eager to press forward and help his attacking teammates into dangerous positions.

Munoz is an exciting talent, for sure, but will he eclipse Ngumoha’s impact on Merseyside? The two can jockey for a place on Iraola’s left wing, but Liverpool’s 17-year-old sensation might end up shining brighter.

However, Wharton has the potential to transform Liverpool’s flagging midfield, taking them back into the limelight and back toward ther title-challenging heights that the fans have come to expect.