Liverpool ready to rival Man Utd for their top summer transfer target

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Liverpool and Manchester United look likely to be on a collision course this summer with both clubs plotting a huge move for Crystal Palace 's Adam Wharton.

Wharton, 21, has a hot of Premier League suitors after stepping up from the Championship with ease since his £18million switch from Blackburn Rovers two years ago. And with Marc Guehi joining Manchester City and Jean-Philippe Mateta now agitating for a move, there is a chance to Wharton could be the next high-profile player departure.

Interest in Wharton among the top-flight's elite has already been well established with United known to be among those who would like to land him.

Liverpool would also be keen on signing the playmaker if Palace are ready to cash in, say The Mail . It could take a fee of around £80million to convince them to do business such is the interest in the midfielder.

While the champions are admirers of Wharton, their focus in the transfer market will be on adding a central defender after missing out on Guehi back in the summer. Tottenham's Micky van de Ven is another Premier League star they are keen.

Wharton's future is likely to be thrust into the spotlight at the end of the season and it's expected Manchester United will be in the conversation as they plot an overhaul of their midfield.

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Palace already know head coach, Oliver Glasner , will leave the club at the end of his contract and comments from Steve Parish last month would seem to indicate they are also braced for interest in some of their top stars. Speaking to The Athletic , he said: "We've got one eye on players who we might have to replace in the summer.

"We're not going to throw it all on red and have a massive problem. Unless you want to be in a situation where you're constantly putting in money every year, there's a cash limit to what you can spend.

"You can't spend money you don't have. You have to have some guardrails as a club, or you'll build up big problems down the track. Everyone saw where prices went in the summer; it's a difficult landscape.

"There wasn't the right thing available at the right time when the finances were in place. There's no point in doing something for the sake of it. How are you going to get someone to come and tell them they are No 1 in Ebs [Eze] position if you still have him? The one where we didn't, with Marc [Gueh], we kept him.

"You can't always make happen what you want to. We are where we are in the pecking order; you could ask why other clubs make bids for our players two weeks before the end of the window. I don't know why they did that."

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