Liverpool and Manchester United have reportedly decided against pursuing a move for Adam Wharton, with Real Madrid now interested in the Crystal Palace star.
Injury problems have limited Wharton to just nine Premier League starts so far this season, but he has impressed since joining Palace from Blackburn Rovers last year. The 21-year-old is widely viewed as one of the best holding midfielders in the league and was part of the England squad that finished runner-up at Euro 2024.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Madrid are eyeing a summer swoop for Wharton with the club's chief scout Juni Calafat a big admirer. The report states that Madrid have been monitoring Wharton's progress.
Both Liverpool and United have been credited with an interest in Wharton, but it is claimed that they are prioritising other summer targets ahead of him. Manchester City are also said to have considered signing Wharton in the January transfer window, but he was out injured at the time and they ultimately signed Nico Gonzalez from Porto instead.
Palace are believed to value the player at around £70million and he is expected to be included in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad later this month. That is despite Palace boss Oliver Glasner urging Tuchel not to pick Wharton, having managed his return from injury very carefully.
"Everybody knows what Adam can do - but we have to be patient," Glasner said after Wharton made his first league start since October in Palace's 4-1 win over Aston Villa last week. "Since the final of the Euros, he's struggled - he will get more minutes.
"He will get many games for the Three Lions in his career. I don't know if this will be the right moment in March after a long injury. Give him time, he is a young boy with a great talent. But at the end of the day it will be Thomas Tuchel's decision."
Wharton was named player of the match against Villa and was delighted to be back starting after a lengthy absence. "I'm feeling good, which is always good," Wharton said. "I'm just happy to be able to get minutes and help the team get results like this.
"I thought it was a top performance. We stuck to the plan. We had to be patient. They're a good team. It's never going to be easy to just win like that. You've got to be patient and, when you get the chances, you've got to take them – and we did that tonight. It was a great three points."