Adam Wharton

Adam Wharton

Personal information
Full name	Adam James Wharton [1]
Date of birth	(2004-02-06) 6 February 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth	Blackburn, England
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Crystal Palace
Number	20
Youth career
0000–2022	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2022–2024	Blackburn Rovers	44	(4)
2024–	Crystal Palace	24	(0)
International career‡
2022–2023	England U19	6	(0)
2023–	England U20	3	(0)
2024–	England U21	1	(0)
2024–	England	1	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   England UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2024 Germany Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:45, 27 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Adam James Wharton (born 6 February 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the England national team.

He started his football career in the academy at Blackburn Rovers. He made his debut for Blackburn in the EFL Championship in 2022. He signed for Crystal Palace in February 2024. He was praised for his performances for an in-form Palace team, earning him selection for the England squad in UEFA Euro 2024.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Wharton supported Blackburn Rovers as a young child and aged four, in 2008, he was club mascot for a Blackburn game against Chelsea. Two years later he joined the Blackburn academy. ^[2]

In February 2022, Wharton signed his first professional contract at Blackburn Rovers, a two-and-a-half-year deal with an option through to 2025. ^[3]

On 10 August 2022, Wharton made his professional debut after being named in the starting XI for a 4–0 EFL Cup first round victory at Ewood Park against Hartlepool United. ^{[4] [5]}

On 27 August 2022, Wharton made his league debut against Stoke City coming off the bench at half time for Joe Rankin-Costello. ^[6] On 31 August 2022, Wharton made his full 90 minutes league debut against Blackpool, winning Player of the Match for an outstanding performance. ^[7] On 22 October 2022, Wharton scored his first goal for the club during a victory over Birmingham City. ^[8]

Crystal Palace

On 1 February 2024, Crystal Palace announced the signing of Wharton on a five-and-a-half-year contract. ^[9] The fee was undisclosed by the club, but reported to be an initial fee of £18 million, which could potentially rise to £22 million. ^[10] He made his first appearance for the club two days later, coming off the bench against rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in a 4–1 defeat. ^[11] Wharton started all 15 of Crystal Palace's remaining Premier League fixtures.

International career

On 16 September 2022, Wharton along with Blackburn teammate Ashley Phillips were called up to the England under-19 squad. ^{[12] [13]} Wharton made his debut in a 2–0 win against Montenegro. ^[14] On 31 August 2023, Wharton was included in England under-20 training camp squad. ^[15] On 16 November, he made his U20 debut during a 3–0 defeat to Italy at the Eco-Power Stadium. ^[16] On 25 March 2024, he received his first call up for the England under-21 team for a Euro qualifying match, and made his debut the following day, coming on as a substitute in a 7–0 win over Luxembourg. ^[17]

On 21 May 2024, Wharton received his first senior call up as part of the 33-player preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2024. ^[18] He made his England debut, as a substitute on 3 June during a 3–0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. ^[19] On 6 June, he was named in the final 26-man squad for the tournament, where he remained an unused substitute. ^[20]

Style of play

Wharton's intelligence and technical ability is a notable characteristic of his playing style. The head of Blackburn Rovers academy, Stuart Jones, told BBC Radio 5 "In terms of his attributes, he was always an outstanding footballer, his ability on the football, his football intelligence and game understanding, he sees things that possibly other players don't see and he's always shown that from a young age." Following his England debut, Gareth Southgate commented on his ability to receive the ball. ^[21]

Personal life

Adam is the younger brother of Scott Wharton, a professional footballer at Blackburn. ^[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 October 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackburn Rovers	2022–23 [23]	Championship	18	2	0	0	4	0	—		22	2
	2023–24 [24]	Championship	26	2	1	0	2	0	—		29	2
	Total		44	4	1	0	6	0	—		51	4
Crystal Palace	2023–24 [24]	Premier League	16	0	—		—		—		16	0
	2024–25 [25]	Premier League	8	0	0	0	2	0	—		10	0
	Total		24	0	0	0	2	0	—		26	0
Career total			68	4	1	0	8	0	0	0	77	4

International

As of match played 3 June 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	2024	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

England

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2024 ^[26]

References

1. "SQUAD LIST 2022/23 & U21 REGISTERED CONTRACT PLAYERS" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
2. Howell, Alex (7 May 2024). "Adam Wharton: Who is Crystal Palace midfielder called up by England?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
3. Sharpe, Rich (16 February 2022). "Blackburn Rovers: Adam Wharton signs first professional contract". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
4. Jackson, Elliott (9 August 2022). "Jon Dahl Tomasson confirms Blackburn Rovers Rovers debut for Hartlepool United clash". LancsLive. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
5. "Blackburn Rovers 4-0 Hartlepool United". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
6. "Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Stoke City". BBC Sport. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
7. "Blackpool 0-1 Blackburn Rovers". Sky Sports. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
8. "Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
9. "Crystal Palace sign Adam Wharton on long-term deal". Crystal Palace F.C. 1 February 2024.
10. "Crystal Palace transfer news: Adam Wharton joins club from Blackburn Rovers for £18m". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
11. "Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 Crystal Palace: Seagulls beat rivals to put pressure on Roy Hodgson". BBC Sport. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
12. "England call for Rovers pair!". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
13. "Adam's Young Lions delight". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
14. Smith, Frank (21 September 2022). "Report: England MU19s 2-0 Montenegro". England Football. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
15. Veevers, Nicholas (1 September 2023). "Training camp squad selected for England MU20s". England Football. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
16. "Report: England Elite League squad 0-3 Italy". Emglandfootball.com. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
17. "Report: England MU21s 7-0 On 21 May 2024, Wharton was called up as part of the provisional England squad for the European Championships in Germany. Luxembourg". englandfootball.com. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
18. Howell, Alex; Stone, Simon (21 May 2024). "Rashford and Henderson left out of England squad". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
19. "Southgate 'spinning plates' before Euros selection". BBC Sport. 3 June 2024.
20. "Wharton & Eze named in England squad for Euro 2024". BBC Sport. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
21. "Adam Wharton: Who is Crystal Palace midfielder called up by England?". BBC Sport. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
22. Crooke, Jaquob (2 December 2021). "'Best I've worked with' - Adam Wharton aiming to emulate his brother's pathway at Blackburn Rovers". LancsLive. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
23. "Games played by Adam Wharton in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
24. "Games played by Adam Wharton in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
25. "Games played by Adam Wharton in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
26. McNulty, Phil (14 July 2024). "Spain 2–1 England: Heartbreak for England in Euro 2024 Final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.

External links

• Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace F.C.
• Adam Wharton at Premier League
• Adam Wharton – UEFA competition record ( archive )