‘Even if he costs £100m…’ – Liverpool urged to spend big on ‘top-level’ Premier League wizard

Liverpool have been urged to splash out upwards of £100m on a Premier League midfielder in the final three weeks of the transfer window.

The Reds have made three additions to their senior squad ahead of the new season, bringing in two defenders (Jeremy Jacquet and a loan move for Ronald Araujo) and a winger (Victor Munoz).

The midfield has been unchanged thus far (aside from the return of Harvey Elliott from his abortive spell at Aston Villa), and Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony believes that should be the priority for LFC sporting director Richard Hughes for the rest of the transfer window.

MacAnthony urges Liverpool to splash out on Wharton

The 50-year-old (who’s a childhood Liverpool fan) was a guest on talkSPORT‘s White and Jordan show when he made the case for the Reds to push the boat out for Crystal Palace dynamo Adam Wharton.

He said: “I’d love them to sign Adam Wharton. I think [Alexis] Mac Allister, for me, his legs were gone last year. It was only when he put an Argentina shirt on that his legs reappeared.

“If you could do business there with him going, I think you bring [Wharton] in and you’ve got a player for the next seven, eight years that will be a starter. He’s got so much upside and potential in him. Even if he costs £85m-£100m or whatever else, you’re getting the player for the long-term.”

Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Are Liverpool likely to pursue Wharton this month?

With Liverpool chasing a big-money move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, it’s hard to envisage them suddenly pivoting to another expensive transfer pursuit for Wharton this close to the deadline.

The Palace midfielder had been the subject of reported interest from the Reds earlier this summer, although there have been no live links on that front of late.

The 22-year-old has earned rave reviews from one of his top-flight peers in Declan Rice, who hailed him as a ‘top-level’ player (cpfc.co.uk), and he’s proven his worth in the Premier League across 70 appearances in the division for the Eagles.

Although Liverpool don’t necessarily have a shortage of midfielders (certainly not in comparison to other parts of the squad), the lack of an elite natural no.6 was evident once again in the defeat to Monaco on Sunday.

The Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle wrote of how the Reds ‘became disjointed and far too easy to play through’ after going 2-0 up in that game, while James Pearce opined for The Athletic that ‘the fact they have not bought a specialist holding midfielder to ease the burden on [Ryan] Gravenberch is a worry’.

Wharton mightn’t be a particularly tough-tackling no.6, but he excels in terms of winning the ball in midfield and instigating attacks for his team, as evidenced by his statistics from the Premier League last season (via Fotmob).

We don’t expect him to pitch up at Anfield by the end of this transfer window, but we absolutely wouldn’t say no to having him in the famous red shirt if FSG were to pursue him with intent.