Tottenham Hotspur will surely target players who can make an instant impact on the first-team after taking some heavy fire recently, with Ange Postecoglou's excellent start to life in the Premier League blighted by injuries and suspensions.
Spurs fell by the wayside last season, collapsing and squandering the progress made under Antonio Conte's stewardship, who secured Champions League qualification in 2021/22.
An eighth-placed finish resulted in Harry Kane's sale to Bayern Munich, but Postecoglou was appointed from Celtic with the view that he would instil a positive, exciting style and rekindle the club's verve.
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Such hopes and dreams were realised emphatically over the opening months of the campaign, with the Australian picking up all the pieces and engineering a blistering start to the current campaign, winning eight and drawing two of the opening Premier League matches of the term.
Such success propelled Spurs into first place, but now enduring a three-match skid, the injury-hit London club is searching for some respite, and the January transfer window could bring the reinforcements needed to steady the ship.
While bolstering the ranks with senior signings is important, Postecoglou would be wise to continue the development of the younger segment of the squad, with Adam Wharton reportedly earmarked to do just that.
Tottenham transfer news – Adam Wharton
According to a recent report from 90min, Tottenham have entered the race to sign Blackburn Rovers midfielder Wharton after being impressed by the 19-year-old's performances in the Championship.
Liverpool Newcastle United, Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton are also suitors and have been monitoring the player's progress over the past year.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will hope that his side's £3m acquisition of Ashley Phillips from Rovers in the summer could sway the odds in his favour, with the respective clubs believed to be on good terms after the negotiations.
Adam Wharton's season in numbers
Rising from Blackburn's academy ranks, Wharton established himself as one of the finest young talents in the English second tier last season and made 18 league appearances last term, starting the final five fixtures in succession.
This season, he has made gains from last year and has already started 13 times in the Championship, completing 83% of his passes, averaging 1.4 key passes, 2.3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 5.6 ball recoveries per game and succeeding with 67% of his dribbles, as per Sofascore.
Touted to be a "great player" by Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson, Wharton is proving himself to be a solid option to complement his side's promotion push, with Tomasson also remarking over his meticulous approach to getting the job done in the right way.
His manager said: "He was the best player in the game. The boy he gets things right, on the ball, off the ball, and that’s great to see. I’m happy to see that development Adam has made this season. If you do the right things in training, and keep doing the right things, you will get chances.
It’s also important that a young lad shouldn’t go down and (start) doing the wrong things. Everything is possible for the boy if he does the right things.”
Should Spurs forge ahead with a deal, Wharton could prove to be another Levy masterclass in dipping down the divisions and procuring a precocious starlet, replicating the former deal to bring Dele Alli to White Hart Lane.
Dele Alli's Tottenham career
Spurs completed the £5m transfer of Alli from League One side MK Dons in February 2015, warding off fierce competition from multiple clubs for his signature.
Alli had just scored 16 goals and supplied nine assists in his final campaign in the third tier and was evidently a top-class talent, but few foresaw the instantaneous gelling he would have at the heart of Mauricio Pochettino's side's endeavours.
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
G/A Rate
22/23
2
0
0
0.00
21/22
21
1
0
0.05
20/21
15
0
1
0.07
19/20
25
8
4
0.48
18/19
25
5
3
0.32
17/18
36
9
11
0.56
16/17
37
18
9
0.73
15/16
33
10
9
0.58
*Sourced via Transfermarkt
Jose Mourinho proclaimed that Alli could become "one of the world's best", but unfortunately he slipped and fell from grace after such a remarkable start to life on the major stage, now fighting to get back to fitness with Everton so he can make his first appearance of the season.
The 37-cap international might have faded away from prominence over the past several years but he is undoubtedly one of the most exciting youngsters to have ever burst onto the scene.
Alli had that rare, ineffable brilliance that only the select few possess, a wow factor and a seat-raising style that captivated the masses and left opposition fans fearing his wrath.
Wharton would not bring the same level of offensive panache, but he definitely boasts plenty of quality that could shoot him right up the ranks over the coming years.
Adam Wharton's potential
Spurs' midfield is somewhat threadbare at present, and given that Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr will both be absent for January and possibly part of February due to the African Cup of Nations suggests that augmenting the engine room would be a good idea for Postecoglou's side.
Rodrigo Bentancur is also out injured for ten weeks and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp are both untrusted, which opens the door for a starlet of Wharton's ilk to start making a name for himself within a squad eyeing a spot back within European competition.
Considered to be a “brilliant young prospect” by journalist Josh Bunting, Wharton would be bold to make the jump to Premier League football when he is earning his stripes in Lancashire, but for a budding star of his calibre, he need only look at the past rise of Alli after the prodigious talent made the move to London.
Wharton is more industrious – he occupies a deeper segment of the midfield – but he boasts all of the tools to flourish in the future with the Lilywhites, and Postecoglou must secure his signature to settle the equilibrium when ploughing ahead with more senior signings – moves which appear to be inevitable given the outfit's circumstances.