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11 August 2026

Manchester United are still looking for a third midfielder despite completing the signings of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans this summer. The Brazilian joined from Chelsea, while Tielemans arrived from Aston Villa.

Santos has been one of the standout performers in pre-season, while the Belgian also made an excellent first appearance from the bench against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last weekend.

Even so, with Manuel Ugarte sidelined through injury and a demanding season ahead, INEOS are still interested in strengthening the midfield further. Although a number of their main targets have already moved elsewhere this summer, Adam Wharton remains at Crystal Palace.

The England midfielder is coming off another strong season in which he recorded one goal and seven assists in 53 matches in all competitions.

A recent report stated that Chelsea and Real Madrid were prepared to beat United to the signing of the 22-year-old. There has now been another development in the story.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Chelsea are no longer pursuing Wharton with the same intensity. Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “Yeah, no real news on Adam Wharton. It’s been surprisingly quiet, in fact.

“There were some early enquiries as Chelsea looked at their midfield market, but they’ve now added Jordan Henderson and they tried for Granit Xhaka. And the feeling is that Chelsea need to focus on outgoings rather than incomings anyway.”

“Of course, we should point out from Palace’s point of view, they’d love to just keep [Wharton] and will hope that it stays quiet between now and the end of the window.”

Jacobs did, however, indicate that Manchester City could yet enter the picture for the English midfielder later in the transfer window. He added: “Manchester City are maybe one club to also keep an eye on because they made an enquiry before the window opened.”

“As it stands, they’re focused on Ayyoub Bouaddi, advanced talks ongoing with Lille and City would like to sign Bouaddi now, even though Lille would prefer a loan back or a pre-agreement and then the player to move in 2027.”

“But it’s not impossible that Manchester City, should Rodri as expected join Barcelona, look for more than one midfielder.”

Jacobs also stressed that Palace have not yet received any bid for Wharton, saying in conclusion: “So we might get a twist towards the end of the window with Adam Wharton.”

“But at the moment, I think one of the biggest surprises of this window is that all of the noise and enquiries came before the window opened. And as far as I’m aware, as of today, Palace haven’t had a single bid.”

Wharton’s high valuation makes a switch to Old Trafford highly unlikely this summer. There is also a view that his profile is similar to Kobbie Mainoo, which could lead United to avoid making a move if it impacts the youngster’s playing time.

Overall credibility: 8/10 Why?

✅ Reported by a journalist with a strong Manchester United track record. ✅ Adam Wharton interest has previously been covered. ⚠️ No official confirmation from club.

View: Wharton could still be an option for United this summer because of his proven Premier League quality. Chelsea potentially dropping out of the race would be encouraging, but Manchester City’s interest and Crystal Palace’s very high asking price could ultimately derail any move.