Adam Wharton has been far from his best so far this season, yet despite this, he has still been excelling in one area.
Crystal Palace finally got off the mark this season and picked up win number one for the year against Tottenham on Sunday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal was the difference in a win which took the Eagles to 17th and kept Oliver Glasner and his team within touching distance of Everton and Leicester.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 9 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 20 | -11 | 4 |
| 19 |  WolvesWolves | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 25 | -13 | 2 |
In the game, it looked like the Eagles finally managed to turn a corner with Maxence Lacroix seen celebrating with the fans after his man-of-the-match performance.
Meanwhile, Adam Wharton was back to his very best in central midfield, despite the thinking that he needed surgery.
Adam Wharton is destroying the league in one area
Wharton has had a less-than-ideal start to life in his first full season at Crystal Palace – with his struggles against Liverpool being the most obvious sign.
However, much of his troubles can be attested to injury, with Wharton requiring injections to make it through games this season for the Eagles.
Despite not performing at the level which got him linked with Real Madrid in the summer, Wharton has still been very impressive in one area.
This is in relation to completing the most progressive passes per 90 in the Premier League, with the top five seeing Wharton second.
- James Maddison – 9.1
- Adam Wharton – 8.8
- Bruno Fernandes – 8.3
- Youri Tielemans – 7.8
- Declan Rice – 6.8
This is more than Manchester United’s £60m valued attacking midfielder and also Arsenal’s midfielder who cost £105m.
To add to this, Wharton’s 8.8 is enough to be the most in Europe among U20 players.
Wharton had his best display of the season for Crystal Palace vs Spurs
Despite not being at full fitness, Wharton was far better with his 47-touch display against Tottenham – playing a key part in keeping the clean sheet.
Wharton was dominant in defence, although was not great on the ball as he completed just 67% of his passes.
- 2/4 tackles
- 4 clearances
- 3 interceptions
- 13 defensive actions
- 5 recoveries
- 5 duels won
This was much better from Wharton and closer to the level that we have been waiting to see from him over the past few months.
However, this should not stop Wharton from receiving the surgery that he so desperately needs to solve the ongoing issue.
