He doesn’t really look like an elite footballer, the spindly 20-year-old from Blackburn who is a few straggly facial hairs away from passing for someone seven years younger. But my word he plays like one.
Passing, by the way, is something Adam Wharton does bloody well. Like most things actually – though growing a beard isn’t one of them.
‘He looks older now because he has a beard,’ said Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner on Saturday, after baby-faced Wharton stole the show in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
‘It took him four weeks to grow it!’
Wharton set up Jeffrey Schlupp’s brilliant equaliser with a forward pass and always looks to progress the ball from the base of midfield. He’s quick to get stuck into tackles, too.
Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton set up his side’s equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Fulham
The baby-faced Wharton has exactly the sort of profile that England could do with this summer
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His rapid rise since joining Palace from Blackburn for £22million in January might have come too late to secure a place in England’s Euros squad, but he has exactly the sort of profile that Gareth Southgate could do with.
‘He has a lot of talent, he’s a great character,’ added Glasner. ‘His outstanding skill is always knowing where the opponent and the free player is. You don’t find this with many players, but he has it. He’s doing really, really well.’
