‘£100m Man City-level player’: Pep Guardiola warned of Crystal Palace ace before Premier League clash

Manchester City must be wary of “quality” Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton in Sunday's Premier League clash at Selhurst Park, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

The 21-year-old has established himself as one of the Premier League’s brightest midfielders since joining the Eagles from Blackburn Rovers for an initial £18m in January 2024.

Wharton’s consistent performances are understood to have caught the attention of several top English clubs, with Man City, Manchester United and Liverpool among those considered to be leading contenders for his signature.

The England international is expected to make his 50th Premier League appearance for Palace against Man City this weekend, and although he is yet to score in the division, he offers a unique blend of defensive solidity and playmaking ability in Oliver Glasner’s midfield.

McInerney has heaped praise on Palace’s well-oiled machine full of “perfect parts”, but he believes that Wharton is the one that stands out, calling him a “Man City-level” talent who could command a fee of around £100m in the current market.

“I look around and there are so many perfect parts to the perfect machine,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “The way that Glasner's oiled that machine so wonderfully, that they all know their role so well.

‘Wharton has £100m midfielder written all over him’

“[Yeremy] Pino is one that I really, really like. Every time I see him, he's just got so much natural ability. [Eddie] Nketiah is scoring goals as well. [Jean-Philippe] Mateta is a quality striker, [but] their best player is Wharton for me.

“Wharton is the quality one. He's got £100m midfielder written all over him... He's Man City-level quality in my opinion. He's brilliant.

“He's got so much charisma on the ball, so much confidence that he will not be overwhelmed in the midfield against the likes of Bernardo Silva, Nico Gonzalez, Phil Foden. He would fit into it so naturally.”

Man City head to the capital in high spirits after winning their last four matches in all competitions, including Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League triumph over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Pep Guardiola’s side beat Sunderland 3-0 in the Premier League last weekend to consolidate second place in the table and move to within two points of leaders Arsenal, who lost 2-1 against third-placed Aston Villa last time out.

Palace, meanwhile, sit fourth in the table and followed up their 2-1 victory at Fulham last weekend with a 3-0 success against Irish outfit Shelbourne in the Conference League on Thursday.

“This is put up or shut up territory for Man City”

McInerney is hopeful that Man City can claim a “statement” win in an “incredibly hard” game against Palace, who beat Guardiola’s side 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley in May of last season.

“This is an incredibly hard game. This is put up or shut up territory for City really,” said McInerney. “You can't beat Sunderland, get the gap cut down to two points and then go and lose to Crystal Palace - well, you can do, but it'd just be very annoying, very irritating and would sort of undo the work of the past week or two.

“This absolutely, definitely 100% would be a statement (if Man City win). If you manage to pull this off and you manage to beat Crystal Palace, you're looking at a real confidence boosting victory.

“In the FA Cup final, we were beaten by the better side in that game. You look at [Palace’s] side, the quality they've got, players that maybe three or four years ago you'd think of as just decent players, but now they've established themselves as some of the best in the Premier League.

“It's going to be a really difficult game because they've got so much self-belief right now. In previous years, they’ve made it difficult (at Selhurst Park). They now make it difficult, not just because of the atmosphere, they make it difficult with quality as well. They are genuinely a good side and they are fourth on merit.

“We talk about individuals, but you have to take the whole collective [seriously]... the whole set-up is fantastic, they're just a really good side.”

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