For a club once blessed with the likes of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane, the midfield unit at Manchester United has now long been a cause for concern, amid a string of errant additions in that department.
Since the days of Scholes himself, or even Michael Carrick more recently, the Red Devils have seen so much upheaval in the centre of the park, with perhaps the longest stable pairing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era emerging as Fred and Scott McTominay – two players dubbed “not good enough” by Keane.
£89m was dished out on Paul Pogba. £40m was splashed out on Donny van de Beek. An ageing Casemiro, meanwhile, joined for a fee that could reach £70m, having since been joined at Old Trafford by fellow South American, Manuel Ugarte, on a £50m deal.
So much investment, yet such little reward, with Ruben Amorim left with a squad so ill-suited to his 3-4-2-1 system, having yet to settle on a first-choice partner to everpresent skipper, Bruno Fernandes, in that midfield two.
There is perhaps a sense that United will live to regret this summer’s recruitment decisions, having gone all in on a new-look forward line of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, albeit while neglecting to strengthen in the engine room.
While the INEOS hierarchy flirted with a £100m plus move for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, no such deal was struck, with the recent suggestions indicating that the club might now have turned their attention to another Premier League sensation – Adam Wharton.
The latest on Man Utd's interest in Adam Wharton
It has become a common theme of the last decade or so for United to have hesitated over moving for a player in their youth, only to then be forced to pay over the odds for that talent later down the line.
Indeed, the Red Devils had come close to prising a teenage Moises Caicedo from his native Ecuador for a measly fee of just £4m, albeit with a complication surrounding his representatives seeing the midfielder move to the Amex instead. Now he’s the “best” midfielder in the Premier League, according to Gary Neville.
Even this summer’s marquee £74m arrival, Sesko, was offered to United for just a fraction of that cost at £2.5m, back in 2019, although with the powers that be again spurning that opportunity.
A repeat scenario appears to have occurred with regard to Wharton, with respected journalist Andy Mitten having revealed that the Old Trafford side were offered the chance to sign the England international prior to his exit from Blackburn Rovers, only to have misgivings over the optics of signing an inexperienced figure from the Championship.
The now 21-year-old ultimately joined current side Crystal Palace for a fee rising to £22m back in February 2024, since enjoying a meteoric rise that includes earning a place in that summer’s Euro 2024 squad, while also playing his part as the Eagles romped to FA Cup glory last term.
While yet to truly establish himself at international level, the silky left-footer is one of the top-flight’s brightest talents, with reports over the summer indicating that he was deemed a viable alternative to Baleba amid United’s midfield search.
The latest claim is that Amorim and co could even look to lodge a £60m bid for the youngster in 2026, albeit with prior reports outlining that the Conference League outfit would be looking for more than £100m for their prized possession.
Games (starts)
6 (6)
Goals
0
Assists
0
Big chances created
5
Pass accuracy*
81%
Key passes*
1.8
Successful dribbles*
1.0
Total duels won*
53%
Possession lost*
8.5
Although Wharton’s familiarity with playing in a midfield pairing would be beneficial, whether he is worth such an extreme outlay remains to be seen. Might Amorim consider looking to the academy instead?
Why Jack Fletcher can be Man Utd's own Wharton
The lack of academy promotion has been a glaring issue in the Portuguese’s tenure thus far, with the 40-year-old perhaps sharing the view of Sir Jim Ratcliffe that the youth ranks have “really slipped” of late.
While the ex-Sporting CP boss did memorably name eight teenagers on the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in February, amid a first-team injury crisis, only Chido Obi, Harry Amass and Tyler Fredricson have debuted during his tenure.
With the midfield department looking so short of depth in the senior set-up, however, with Kobbie Mainoo rounding off the quartet of Casemiro, Fernandes and Ugarte, that is certainly one area of the pitch where in-house reinforcements could be needed.
There are high hopes for Sekou Kone, signed for just £1m last summer, although in terms of producing a homegrown Wharton, it is 18-year-old Jack Fletcher who undoubtedly fits the bill.
Son of ex-United star and current U18s coach, Darren, the teenage playmaker joined the club from rivals Manchester City alongside his twin brother Tyler back in 2023, representing a real coup for those at Old Trafford.
While still yet to make his senior debut, Jack – who turns out for England at youth level – was part of the matchday squad for that night away at Spurs earlier this year, having featured on the bench for five league games in total in 2024/25.
An elegant left-footer, in the mould of Wharton, Fletcher’s brief promotion was just reward for a fine season all-round in the academy set-up, having provided 15 goals and assists in 22 recorded games across all fronts, as per Transfermarkt.
The highlight of those involvements undoubtedly came in the EFL Trophy away at Barnsley, with the 5 foot 11 midfielder scoring twice to complete a remarkable comeback for United’s U21 side, including netting an outrageous strike from range on the volley.
The current campaign has seen Fletcher flit between a midfield role and a left-back berth, although he has still scored twice already in all competitions, representing a creative, forward-thinking outlet wherever he is deployed on the pitch.
Despite his recent full-back switch pointing to a potential future at wing-back in Amorim’s side, it is as a left-sided central midfielder where Fletcher is likely to flourish, with analyst Ben Mattinson suggesting that he has “everything you’d want” for that latter role.
A player who “glides around the pitch with elegance and power”, according to Mattinson, the teen’s likeness to Wharton is evident to see, with United likely to save themselves a huge outlay if they do look to those at Carrington instead.
Having already missed their chance with Wharton in the past, perhaps the Red Devils should view the Palace man as a ship that has sailed. They already have their own future midfield star in Fletcher anyway.
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