“He’s a bit soft there” - Roy Keane identifies where Manchester United linked Adam Wharton must be more ‘mature’ after England win vs Albania 

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has highlighted a key issue with Adam Wharton after England's 2-0 win over Albania. He believes that the midfielder was 'soft' and should be demanding the ball from his teammates.

Speaking on ITV, Keane praised Wharton for thinking about making a forward pass instead of playing it safe like several other midfielders. However, he wants the Manchester United target to be more demanding and shout at his teammates for the ball. He said (via Football365):

“I do like Adam Wharton. A lot of the modern midfielders, their first option seems to be ‘can I go sideways or backwards?’ What I like about him, the first option he seems to look at it is ‘can I pass it forward?’ and that’s a big strength to have. This is where he can mature over the next year or two if he’s playing at the top level, put demands onto people." "He’s a bit soft there. Shout at players, go ‘give me the ball!’. That’s what I used to do, I used to fall out with people a lot. ‘Give me the ball!’ Put demands on your teammates. He’s still new to it, so I’m not going to be too harsh on him. But as he matures and starts playing more games, put demands on your teammates.”

Manchester United are keen on adding Wharton to their midfield and are reportedly plotting a move for the Crystal Palace star in 2026.

Manchester United warned about signing Adam Wharton

Former Everton striker Louis Saha has warned Manchester United about signing Adam Wharton. He believes that the midfielder will need time to adapt and the club will need to be careful about spending big on him. He said:

"I think Adam Wharton is a young lad. I do think that sometimes you have to be careful with those big signings. I consider this new market to be extremely dangerous for clubs because you can see the hype that goes up and then you're left surprised." "It took a bit of time for Moises Caicedo to settle at Chelsea as well so there are big signings and sometimes the expectations are too high. You have to really read under the lines and that's not easy. That's really not an easy market."

Apart from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are also said to be keeping tabs on the Crystal Palace star, who has been slapped with a £100 million price tag.

Edited by Sripad