Troy Deeney has revealed how he’s not yet sold on Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton, despite his impressive form in the Premier League this season.
Crystal Palace fans will tell you that Adam Wharton is one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League, and in Europe too.
Palace signed Wharton from Blackburn Rovers for just £18million back in 2024 and already there’s talk of him costing towards the £100million mark.
Real Madrid are long-term admirers of Wharton who has also had links to the likes of Bayern Munich. But pundit Troy Deeney thinks the 21-year-old still has a way to go before he’s considered top level.
Troy Deeney not yet sold on Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton
Speaking on The Football Exchange, Deeney spoke about Wharton and compared him to Moises Caicedo, who left Brighton for Chelsea in a £100million deal in August 2023. Previous reports have valued Wharton around the £100million mark as well, but Deeney had this to say: “I could be wrong. And I don’t want to sound bad because he’s English and I want him to do well, but I’m not sold yet on Adam Wharton.
“I think Adam Wharton’s a nice player, moves really well. But again, for £100million, like £100million for Caicedo, we know there’s more to go, right? He’s nowhere near his ceiling.
“I again, I’ve been fortunate enough this season to work a lot of games. I watched Barcelona play Pedri against Newcastle. Pedri is the level that is the standard for everybody. I think Caicedo is not too far off that. I think Declan Rice isn’t too far off that. I think Wharton miles off that.”
Adam Wharton stats vs Moises Caicedo in 2025/26
Both Wharton and Caicedo play in different systems in different teams, and in slightly different roles too with Caicedo often getting further forward than Wharton, and that shows with Caicedo having three goals in the Premier League this season compared to Wharton’s zero.
But despite having no assists yet, Wharton has created five big chances in the league this season compared to Caicedo’s zero.
| Statistic (PL) | Wharton in 25/26 | Caicedo in 25/26 |
| Apps | 6 | 7 |
| Started | 6 | 7 |
| Goals/Assists | 0/0 | 3/0 |
| Big chances created | 5 | 0 |
| Key passes per game | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Passes per game | 25.8 | 56.9 |
| Pass % | 81 | 91 |
| Tackles per game | 1 | 4 |
| Recoveries per game | 4.5 | 5.4 |
The stats show two different players, clearly. But Caicedo having a couple of years on Wharton means he’s a bit further down his own development path. In a couple of years, Wharton surely reaches that level.
He’s showing very positive signs so far and whilst Deeney might have a point about him not being at the level of Caicedo or Declan Rice yet, he remains very young, and very impressive for his age.
