- Wharton came on for his England debut in 3-0 win over Bosnia on Monday night
- The 20-year-old has had a startling rise since signing from Blackburn in January
- Click here to follow Mail Sport’s Euro 2024 WhatsApp Channel for all the latest breaking news and updates from Germany
When I saw Adam Wharton play for Crystal Palace against Liverpool towards the end of the season, I thought, ‘Wow!’
Liverpool were going for it in that game, they needed to win, but Palace were terrific and Wharton was at the heart of everything positive.
As he showed for England against Bosnia on Monday, what I like about him is he understands that the excellence of midfield is in its simplicity. If a forward pass is on, play it. If your defence needs help, cover them. Keep your discipline and help your team-mates.
I am biased but midfield is the most important part of the game bar scoring goals, yet so many people over complicate it. What I like about Wharton is he knows his role. He is constantly looking around to assess the landscape of the game so he can sense danger or sense an opportunity.
It’s terrific for Gareth Southgate that he has two great young talents in Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo for the position.
Both have broken into the Premier League this season, maintained their places on merit and shown they can handle the big occasion. I’d take them both on the plane to Germany without any qualms.
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The key will be how Gareth sets up his team. Declan Rice is a cert but our two best players are Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.
Both have excelled in the hole behind the striker this season and Gareth must decide who gets that berth for England.
We have an abundance of talent on the flanks so he could drop Bellingham deeper — he is more than capable there — and play Foden behind Harry Kane.
But equally Foden could go to the left, with Bellingham pushed up and one of the kids trusted alongside Rice.
To win things we need individuals who understand balance and work ethic. They need to be reliable.
Like the best teams today, in the Manchester United teams I played in the wide players had to track their full back, so that the central midfielder wasn’t pulled out of position when needing to cover, opening up holes in the middle.
Equally, I’d like to see Rice go forward as he has done at Arsenal and be a goal threat for England, comfortable in the knowledge that his midfield partner has the discipline to cover him.
I’ve seen a lot of Mainoo and he underlined his maturity in the FA Cup final against a very good team in Manchester City. I wouldn’t be worried to put him in and on current evidence, the same applies to Wharton. England’s midfield future looks promising.