Mainoo will need backup in midfield next season (Picture: Getty)
Wes Brown believes Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton would be the perfect partner for Kobbie Mainoo at the heart of Manchester United’s midfield.
United hope to finish the season with Champions League qualification before switching focus to another pivotal summer transfer window.
Casemiro will leave Old Trafford when his contract expires at the end of the campaign with finding a replacement for the Brazil international a top priority.
With Manuel Ugarte another who could move on, United may even seek to bring in two midfield players with options beyond Michael Carrick’s current pairing rather slim.
Kobbie Mainoo has starred alongside Casemiro since Carrick took the reins having spent the first half of the season frozen out of the team by Ruben Amorim. Having been keen to leave as recently as January, Mainoo’s prospects at the club are bright once again.
Whoever United end up signing this summer could very well play alongside Mainoo for years to come. Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson is thought to be a top target while United have already discussed a move for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.
Wharton is another played admired. Brown, who won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and two Champions Leagues with United, is a huge fan of the former Blackburn Rovers youngster, seeing plenty of potential in a long-term partnership between him and Mainoo for both club and country.
Your football fix
Metro‘s Head of Sport James Goldman delivers punchy analysis, transfer talk and his take on the week’s biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.
Sign up here, it’s an open goal.
Wharton on United’s list of midfield targets (Picture: Getty)
‘I love Adam. When we played Palace the other day I made myself have a good look at him and he is so good on the ball,’ Brown told Metro via BetMGM.
‘That would be a great asset for the club. He would cost a lot of money but it will be tough for Crystal Palace to keep another of their top players. But that position does need filling. Him and Kobbie could be a great partnership.’
Casemiro will leave United at the end of the season (Picture: Getty)
Palace have been stripped of their most valued assets over the last six months with Eberechi Eze joining Arsenal last summer with Marc Guehi leaving for Manchester City in January.
Guehi in particular has stepped up to the new challenge, immediately slotting into Pep Guardiola’s defence as City seek to chase Arsenal down in the Premier League title race.
While he will not come cheap, Wharton could be the next to leave.
‘I just look at Adam Wharton and he’s very good on the ball, very athletic, very complete,’ Brown said.
‘With the quality of players they have had, Palace should be mid-table at least. You look at Eze at Arsenal and Guehi at Man City now and he is really showing what he is all about. Wharton can hopefully do the same.’
Arrow
MORE: Rio Ferdinand makes Benjamin Sesko prediction that will excite Man Utd fans
Arrow
MORE: Man Utd urged to hijack Arsenal move for ‘one of the best players in the Premier League’
Arrow
MORE: Manchester United eye move for Bournemouth star as cheaper midfield option
Comment now
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Football Newsletter – In The Mixer
Punchy analysis, transfer talk and more from Metro’s football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.
