Brighton’s and Crystal Palace’s withdrawal from Blackburn Rovers’ player race comes to light
Brighton’s and Crystal Palace’s withdrawal from Blackburn Rovers’ player race comes to light
HIGHLIGHTS
Both Brighton and Crystal Palace pulled out of the race for Adam Wharton because of his £20m price tag.
Wharton has made a good impression in his limited senior time and is now Blackburn’s most valuable player.
Blackburn Rovers set their price tag at £20m because of Alex Scott’s departure from Bristol City for AFC Bournemouth.
Brighton and Palace have dropped out of the race for Blackburn’s 18-year-old midfielder Adam Wharton, after the youngster’s side put a £20m price tag on him,” Alan Nixon reports. According to the same journalist, the two arch-rivals did their homework on the youngster after watching him shine last season under John Tomasson. Wharton even scored against last season’s Championship champions Burnley in the second half of the campaign, showing real poise and class in the centre of the park.
There was plenty of talk about Wharton even before he made it to the first-team, and now he’s justifying the hype with senior football. He’s probably Rovers’ most valuable player now, and he’ll only get better with senior experience. He was on the bench at the start of the season, but he’s started every league game under Tomasson since and could keep his place if he can stay consistent.
Wolves’ pursuit of Adam Wharton
Nixon has also reported that Wolves offered £12m for Wharton during the latter stages of the transfer window.
That’s a considerable amount for a player that only has a limited amount of senior experience under his belt – but the Midlands side had the license to offer that much with Matheus Nunes making a big-money move to Premier League giants Manchester City.
With such a big gap in valuations between Blackburn and Wolves on Wharton, they were unable to get a deal over the line for the teenager in the end but it will be interesting to see whether the top-tier side revive their interest in him at some point.
Why have Blackburn Rovers valued Adam Wharton at £20m?]
Ewood Park officials believe they should receive a transfer fee similar to the one Bristol City paid to sign Alex Scott from Bristol City. Wharton is not only young but also has senior experience, and he has four years remaining on his Ewood Park deal. This gives Tomasson’s camp carte blanche to ask an exorbitant fee for him.
Should Blackburn Rovers value Adam Wharton at £20m?
They have every reason to price the teenager accordingly, given the circumstances that are in Rovers’ favour. He’s tied to the club until 2027, so they’ll be able to take that stance for at least the next three to four seasons, and his value could well increase over that period. It’s likely that he’ll need to be sold at some stage to fund further additions, but it’ll be important to do so at the right time, as they’ll want to get the most out of him. If he does end up being sold below £20m, which they shouldn’t be actively pursuing, then they should look to include a huge sell-on clause, as they could be able to sell him on for a substantial sum down the line. Even if it does go beyond £20m, Tomassson’s side will need to include a sell-on and add-on clause. They’ll have to make the most of their bargaining power on the midfielder.
