On 22/06/2026 at 04:01, dkw said:

Whats this infatuation with fast players, midfielders dont all have to be flying machines, or Spartans, he can be the slowest in the league but also the most effective. There's no point looking at one stat of a player and coming to a conclusion, Fabregas was slower than glacial erosion but is one of the best midfielders the premier league has ever seen.

Enzo Fernandez is slow and I thought that was one of the reasons why he was not the ideal midfielder to have alongside Caicedo.

And for the record Enzo is a lot better than Adam

Edited Tuesday at 11:102 days by TheCeleryKing

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Where are you reading that?

Got sent it by a mate who seems to think its pretty much done....probably bullsh*t though 😅

2 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Enzo Fernandez is slow and I thought that was one of the reasons why he was not the ideal midfielder to have alongside Caicedo.

And for the record Enzo is a lot better than Adam

Nothing to do with speed, all about positioning and intelligence. And no, I dont think Enzo is better than him.

8 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Enzo Fernandez is slow and I thought that was one of the reasons why he was not the ideal midfielder to have alongside Caicedo.

And for the record Enzo is a lot better than Adam

You can see below why Wharton is a better fit defensively despite him being 'slow'. He reads the game well.

The green bold Enzo is the season he played deep under Maresca with Palmer at CAM.

I don't agree that Wharton is better than Enzo, but even if that were true, I still don't see him as the right player for us. We already have great young midfielders with potential and we do not need yet another one. We need a grown up player with at least 3-4 years more experience. In all honesty Adam Wharton is ridiculously over priced. At 40 million quid maybe? at 80 million quid? Nah. Pass.

Edited Tuesday at 11:312 days by TheCeleryKing

31 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Enzo Fernandez is slow and I thought that was one of the reasons why he was not the ideal midfielder to have alongside Caicedo.

And for the record Enzo is a lot better than Adam

Enzo does have the knack of getting into the box to score a goal here and there, but the only other thing he is better at than Wharton is covering his body in ridiculous tattoo's.

Passing wise, Wharton is at Fabregas level compared to Enzo and that's what we need, someone who can see the pass and execute it. Regularly.

24 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

You can see below why Wharton is a better fit defensively despite him being 'slow'. He reads the game well.

The green bold Enzo is the season he played deep under Maresca with Palmer at CAM.

Under Maresca. Playing Maresca ball. So, it really is difficult to make the comparison imho.

9 minutes ago, Nibs said:

the only other thing he is better at than Wharton is covering his body in ridiculous tattoo's

lol (nice one)

but in all seriousness I think we have to be very careful IF we think that Wharton is the new Fabregas - because he simply is not. AND he is not worth 80 million quid. Half that maybe. And even then he is not the player we need imho.

14 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Under Maresca. Playing Maresca ball. So, it really is difficult to make the comparison imho.

Even at the 2022 WC he was the most dribbled past player in the competition.

6 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Even at the 2022 WC he was the most dribbled past player in the competition.

He did get a winners medal. So there is that.

But i think we are losing Enzo right? Fair enough, it is what it is. BUT is Adam Wharton the solution? and I don't think so.

20 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

20 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Under Maresca. Playing Maresca ball. So, it really is difficult to make the comparison imho.

lol (nice one)

but in all seriousness I think we have to be very careful IF we think that Wharton is the new Fabregas - because he simply is not. AND he is not worth 80 million quid. Half that maybe. And even then he is not the player we need imho.

I agree that £80m is steep. But I think transfers fees have all lost touch with reality. When I think of the money we have wasted on players in varying positions, who are nowhere near as good as Wharton, it all becomes a bit meaningless. Wharton might not be worth £80m, but then Enzo wasn't worth over £100m, Mudryk wasn't worth whatever we paid for him, nor Gittens, nor Garnacho, nor Badiashille............................etc etc

On 22/06/2026 at 11:54, Nibs said:

We can't let this lad go to Liverpool or Spurs. He will massively improve us and he is just what we need.

If he was to go to Spurs of all places rather than us, that would really hit home as to how far we have fallen as a club.

Any player who chooses spurs over us ISNT A PROFESSIONAL footballer and we shouldnt take them seriously.

1 hour ago, Sconnie Blue said:

You can see below why Wharton is a better fit defensively despite him being 'slow'. He reads the game well.

The green bold Enzo is the season he played deep under Maresca with Palmer at CAM.

these Stats say he likes a sideways pass more than that useless Italian we had, Jorginho...

Bring back Gallagher, had we kept him, we wouldnt be in this rediculous magical roundabout situation.

27 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

He did get a winners medal. So there is that.

But i think we are losing Enzo right? Fair enough, it is what it is. BUT is Adam Wharton the solution? and I don't think so.

I've been saying all summer that in order to replace Enzo, we need to replace him with an actual attacker. Not a midfielder.

Wharton or whoever the CM we bring in is simply to complement Caicedo, whos been ran ragged for years now. Enzo should be replaced by an attacker that has some output, preferably Ndiaye if reports are true.

4 minutes ago, bluelightening said:

these Stats say he likes a sideways pass more than that useless Italian we had, Jorginho...

Are you ignoring his progressive passes and key passes? He plays on a team that doesn't see the ball often and he still challenges Enzo in all aspects of passing.

30 minutes ago, Nibs said:

I agree that £80m is steep. But I think transfers fees have all lost touch with reality. When I think of the money we have wasted on players in varying positions, who are nowhere near as good as Wharton, it all becomes a bit meaningless. Wharton might not be worth £80m, but then Enzo wasn't worth over £100m, Mudryk wasn't worth whatever we paid for him, nor Gittens, nor Garnacho, nor Badiashille............................etc etc

Agreed. So why do we need to add Adam Wharton to that list of expensive failures? Lavia/Santos can fill in that role until we get a more suitable player. I hope Alonso has some ideas here. An older more technically gifted player with perhaps a little pace?

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I've been saying all summer that in order to replace Enzo, we need to replace him with an actual attacker. Not a midfielder.

Wharton or whoever the CM we bring in is simply to complement Caicedo, whos been ran ragged for years now. Enzo should be replaced by an attacker that has some output, preferably Ndiaye if reports are true.

Yes, I think you are correct and we need a different type of player here - and hopefully Alonso has a system/formation or two that can make that more logical.

1 hour ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Agreed. So why do we need to add Adam Wharton to that list of expensive failures? Lavia/Santos can fill in that role until we get a more suitable player. I hope Alonso has some ideas here. An older more technically gifted player with perhaps a little pace?

Lavia hasn't completed 90 minutes in over 3 years and Santos got dog walked at every set piece.

If Alonso is going for wing backs, which the latest news implies, then I can't see how Wharton fits the profile.

I can see someone like Camavinga coming in, who offers deep and rangy central midfield support to Caicedo as well as offering a LB alternative. If so, with Palmer/Estevao working the right hand half space wouldn't the player they want be best suited in the left hand half space.

We know that neither Gittens or Garnacho seem good enough and personally I don't think Neto is good enough nor do I think he'll be here. They seem to be interested in Rogers but why would he come to us. Same with Barcola.

Could I see a situation develop where they go all in for Grealish. Could they see him as the experienced head, the Granit Xhaka personality in the team. You bet I could see that happening.

13 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Lavia hasn't completed 90 minutes in over 3 years and Santos got dog walked at every set piece.

Agreed. But that doesn't mean sign Adam.

If we go with wingbacks, which the signing of Palestra seem to imply, theres a great chance Reece is seen as a midfielder full time. So after Enzo we have Reece, Caicedo, Lavia and Santos for the two deep positions in CM. Sure, it should be possible to upgrade, but is it worth it this summer with the completely insane market for CM’s? Personally, if Wharton for at least 80m is the answer, I’d rather wait and stick with what we’ve got

11 minutes ago, AndyDowsleftflank said:

If we go with wingbacks, which the signing of Palestra seem to imply, theres a great chance Reece is seen as a midfielder full time. So after Enzo we have Reece, Caicedo, Lavia and Santos for the two deep positions in CM. Sure, it should be possible to upgrade, but is it worth it this summer with the completely insane market for CM’s? Personally, if Wharton for at least 80m is the answer, I’d rather wait and stick with what we’ve got

If we're going wing backs, Reece plays RCB for me

11 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

If Alonso is going for wing backs, which the latest news implies, then I can't see how Wharton fits the profile.

I can see someone like Camavinga coming in, who offers deep and rangy central midfield support to Caicedo as well as offering a LB alternative. If so, with Palmer/Estevao working the right hand half space wouldn't the player they want be best suited in the left hand half space.

We know that neither Gittens or Garnacho seem good enough and personally I don't think Neto is good enough nor do I think he'll be here. They seem to be interested in Rogers but why would he come to us. Same with Barcola.

Could I see a situation develop where they go all in for Grealish. Could they see him as the experienced head, the Granit Xhaka personality in the team. You bet I could see that happening.

Wharton x Caicedo pivot in the middle of the park makes complete sense. Wharton profile isn't too dissimilar to Camavinga in the middle tbh.

On 23/06/2026 at 12:55, TheCeleryKing said:

Under Maresca. Playing Maresca ball. So, it really is difficult to make the comparison imho.

lol (nice one)

but in all seriousness I think we have to be very careful IF we think that Wharton is the new Fabregas - because he simply is not. AND he is not worth 80 million quid. Half that maybe. And even then he is not the player we need imho.

Although I agree he is not worth £80m, if CFC are valuing Gusto at £75m, then we are lucky Palace are not asking for double that as Wharton is twice the player Gusto is.

Football has gone mad.

8 hours ago, Nibs said:

Although I agree he is not worth £80m, if CFC are valuing Gusto at £75m, then we are lucky Palace are not asking for double that as Wharton is twice the player Gusto is.

Football has gone mad.

I concur. That said, then the question becomes - Regardless of money who do we want in the midfield alongside Caicedo? - I don't choose Wharton.

12 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

I concur. That said, then the question becomes - Regardless of money who do we want in the midfield alongside Caicedo? - I don't choose Wharton.

I do. Really like him as player and he should be there at the World Cup as don't see too many who can pick and thread a pass like he does. English too of course. Not being xenophobic but I like the idea of having more of a British contingent like we used to with JT, Lamps, Ash & Joey etc. Fed up of seeing the likes of Gusto, Cucurella and Enzo going down too easily.

30 minutes ago, Nibs said:

I do. Really like him as player and he should be there at the World Cup as don't see too many who can pick and thread a pass like he does. English too of course. Not being xenophobic but I like the idea of having more of a British contingent like we used to with JT, Lamps, Ash & Joey etc. Fed up of seeing the likes of Gusto, Cucurella and Enzo going down too easily.

I do like the idea of a core of English/homegrown lads. We are a team in London with London fans, etc. I mean if i were a player and was offered a job in London i would want the core of my workmates/teammates to be British blokes and natives innit. It is the best for camaraderie

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by TheCeleryKing