Blackburn Rovers midfielder Adam Wharton has been linked with a number of Premier League teams ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 18-year-old only made his Championship debut this season, and he’s only played 18 times in the second tier for Blackburn Rovers. But already, teams from the Premier League are taking note with reports having linked a number of teams with the central midfielder.
The Sun first reported last month that Crystal Palace were keen on Wharton. Since then, Newcastle United have been quite heavily linked with a summer move for the Englishman, with Arsenal, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham having all been credited with an interest too.
But speaking to Lancs Live, Rovers’ Director of Football Gregg Broughton has revealed that it would take a lot for the club to part ways with Wharton this summer.
He said:
“He [Wharton] is on a long-term contract, he is happy here and he is a Blackburn boy through and through. Ultimately, we have to be a player-trading club but it is now up to us, in communication with the player, to decide when is the right time for that player to move. It would take something unbelievable for that to happen this summer with Adam.”
Wharton going nowhere?
Wharton, as an 18-year-old, inexperienced player, wouldn’t break the bank for a team like Newcastle United. But this message from Broughton seems like a pretty clear hands-off warning and so expect Wharton’s links to the Premier League to die down after this.
But Newcastle, or any other Premier League team that is interested for that matter, could likely put enough money on the table for Rovers to consider selling. As Broughton suggests though, it would need to be a lot of money, and a lot of money on such a young player would be a risk.
His development is perhaps best served at Ewood Park for time being anyway – he could play a huge role for Rovers next season.
