Manchester United eyeing shock England star to partner Kobbie Mainoo in midfield: report

Manchester United are looking to bring in an England international to partner Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.

The Red Devils are up and running the transfer window, already. Joshua Zirkzee, who went to Euro 2024 with the Netherlands , has signed for Manchester United , despite having qualified for the Champions League with Bologna last term.

There could be bigger names, yet, too. Matthijs De Ligt is rumoured – and now another England star could be sought out to partner Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.

CaughtOffside claims that Adam Wharton is on United's radar, having only signed for Crystal Palace in January. Prior to that, the midfielder was at Blackburn Rovers .

Mainoo has been a midfield mainstay since emerging from the United academy but hasn't found a regular partner alongside him. It's widely expected that Casemiro will leave the club this summer, while Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen and others have played centrally in the last year or so alongside the teenager.

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Wharton, however, may be the answer. A cultured left-footer capable of operating box-to-box, the 20-year-old is only just older than Mainoo and could complement his England colleague nicely, as the Red Devils look to build a solid foundation for the next decade.

While Mainoo set a record as England's youngest-ever finalist at a major tournament yesterday, Wharton was one of an unlucky handful of stars who failed to get onto the pitch at the tournament at all. He remains on just the one cap, having made his international debut as a substitute on June 3 during the 3–0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

CaughtOffside's report states that Wharton may only be an alternative, anyway. Joao Neves is believed to be the No.1 target but his employers, Benfica, are not budging on their demands. The Portuguese schemer has a release clause of around €120 million.

Palace star Wharton, meanwhile, may be half the price. Though it may look like a knee-jerk signing, capitalising on only a few months of good form, in FourFourTwo's opinion, Wharton would make an excellent partner for Mainoo and this could be a sensible option to sign in the event that Neves can't be bought.

The only issue is that Wharton has basically only just signed at Selhurst Park, and with Michael Olise having already left this summer, the Eagles will be reluctant to do business over another one of their upcoming stars. This one might well be dead in the water before it's got going, given that Palace hold all the cards, here.

Wharton is worth €30m, according to Transfermarkt . His contract runs until 2029.

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