Tottenham suffer setback in their pursuit of £60m rated PL star; January opportunity ruled out

With James Maddison rupturing his ACL and Rodrigo Bentancur facing an uncertain future at N17, there was an urgent need to bring in reinforcements in the middle of the park for this season. The Lilywhites clearly lack firepower in midfield, leaving Thomas Frank short of options if there is an injury crisis at the club.

Tottenham might not be able to land Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton

It was reported earlier that Spurs are continuing to keep tabs on Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton for a January move after missing out on the youngster on deadline day. The Lilywhites are willing to fend off competition from other Premier League rivals for Wharton’s signature, showing their clear intent to land the 21-year-old. The report also stated that the Eagles would only let the midfielder leave if their £60m valuation was met.

Spurs, however, have now received a massive setback in their efforts to land the England international in January. As per Pete O’Rourke (via Football Insider),

“It’ll be highly unlikely that Palace would entertain any offers for Wharton in January. He’s a top player, so if he does become available it won’t just be Liverpool in the market for him, it’ll be most of the big clubs in the Premier League and top European clubs. He’s under a long-term contract at Palace until 2029, and it would take a huge fee to price him away.”

The journalist added,

“They don’t want to lose Wharton, especially not in January because he would be a very difficult player for them to replace, so they’ll be doing everything they can to keep hold of him. We know January is a difficult window to do big deals as well, so I don’t see anything happening in January.”

Pete O’Rourke reports that Crystal Palace have no intentions of losing Adam Wharton to any of the top Premier League teams in January. The journalist points out that Wharton has a long-term contract at Selhurst Park, and the Eagles would only consider huge sums of money for a potential sale midway through the season. O’Rourke admits that Palace will keep hold of the Englishman till the end of the season as the club would not be able to find suitable replacements in the winter.

Given how tough it will be for Tottenham to find a better player in January, they should go all-in and buy Adam Wharton for the required amount and seal the deal quickly. The Lilywhites are all set to be backed by the Lewis family in the winter, as reports of a £100m investment loom large over N17. So, the North London club should spend that money wisely on players like Wharton and bring them to Hotspur Way quickly.