Carlton Palmer suggests Everton could ‘strike a deal’ with Blackburn Rovers for Adam Wharton
Carlton Palmer has suggested that Everton could strike a deal with Blackburn Rovers to see Adam Wharton return to the Championship side on loan.
Alan Nixon reported via his Patreon on Sunday (24 September) that the Toffees were interested in making a move to sign the 19-year-old who has impressed in England’s second tier, should the funds become available to complete a move.
Blackburn’s financial model has been one that has thrived from player trading in the past, but with Wharton having four years left on his contract at Ewood Park, former England international Palmer believes it would take a sizeable fee for Everton to complete the signing.
Speaking to Football League World (26 September) he said: “Everton were thought to be going to make an offer in the previous transfer window, but it failed to materialise. Wharton is under contract until the summer of 2027, so Blackburn are not in any rush to sell and are totally in control of the situation.
“It’s believed that Blackburn would want a fee of around £10million. Blackburn could be forced to sell, they have this model where they sell and reinvest in the team and they may need to do that to push on for promotion.
“They could sell in January and strike a deal to loan him back until the end of the season.”
Strike a deal
The financial uncertainty at Goodison Park is a huge caveat to any potential transfer that could or may not happen in January for Wharton or any player, as currently, Sean Dyche doesn’t know who will be signing the cheques for the Toffees, let alone how much they’ll be worth.
Farhad Moshiri is still looking to sell, with a deal agreed in principle for 777 Partners to take over his 94 per cent stake in Everton, but until that deal is completed, it seems incredibly unlikely that Dyche will be allowed to go and spend £10 million on a player unproven in the Premier League.
A potential loan back to Ewood Park seems even less unlikely as should the Toffees be able to pay an eight-figure fee for any player in January, it’s highly unlikely that they will then opt to not play him in their first team and instead send him back to the Championship on loan.
Whether or not this reported interest turns into a genuine approach or bid for Wharton in the new year depends massively on what happens at the top of Everton in the coming months and even then, the new ownership may have different ideas of who they’d like to recruit.
In other Everton news, one source close to the club has issued an update on the potential for administration at Goodison Park