Manchester transfer battle! City & United tussling over £70m-rated Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton

According to TEAMtalk, the pair of Manchester clubs are each showing interest in Wharton, who is back on track after a lengthy absence earlier this season with a hernia problem. That could put the local rivals on collision course when it comes to the Palace player come summer.

Both sides are in the early stages of a rebuild that is going to require careful recruitment over several transfer windows. City are tasked with trying to create a second great team for Pep Guardiola as his first reaches the end of a natural cycle, demonstrated by a spectacular drop-off this season, while United must equip Ruben Amorim with a squad that better suits his specific tactical system. Midfield is a key part of that, with United set to shed Christian Eriksen and potentially Casemiro at the end of the season. There also remain doubts about Kobbie Mainoo's future for different reasons. Meanwhile, at City, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan are 33 and 34 respectively, with Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic also over 30 and no guarantees over how quickly Rodri will be back up to speed once he has recovered from an ACL injury last September. Wharton, 21, has emerged as England's next great midfield hope, able to play a deep-lying role and drive his team forward.

Wharton has only made 29 top flight appearances in his career to date, such has been his rapid rise to prominence. It was only a little over a year ago that he was playing in the Championship with Blackburn Rovers, before a mid-season move to Palace and a shock call-up to England's Euro 2024 squad. Even with relatively little experience behind him, the Blackburn-born talent is reportedly being priced at £70 million ($90.4m). Should he move for that amount this summer, it would see Palace more than treble their investment in just 18 months.

Budgets and player departures are going to be key factors in what clubs across the board can do in the transfer market this summer, with United in particular needing to create room before they can add new signings. With Wharton contracted until 2029, Palace are also under no pressure to sell on anyone's terms but their own.