Paul Mitchell attempts to go one better than Dan Ashworth with £60m Newcastle United pursuit

Add as preferred source on Google

Dan Ashworth oversaw some excellent signings as Newcastle United sporting director.

While his reputation has been tarnished by his St James’ Park exit and the Manchester United debacle, Ashworth was well liked at Newcastle.

He made some excellent signings, including the £63million deal for Alexander Isak. He remains Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever.

However, there were also plenty of deals that he missed out on.

Newcastle United looking at Adam Wharton

One player who Newcastle United failed to sign during Ashworth’s tenure on Tyneside was Adam Wharton.

According to the Chronicle, Newcastle scouted Wharton heavily when he was at Blackburn Rovers, and were linked with doing a deal.

Instead, he joined Crystal Palace for £22million and immediately proved that the Magpies had missed out in a big way.

Now Newcastle United could potentially atone for their error, with Give Me Sport reporting that the Toon recruitment team are monitoring Wharton ahead of the summer transfer window.

The 21-year-old is also attracting admiring glances from Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa officials, as Crystal Palace prepare to fight to keep their star midfielder.

Where Adam Wharton would fit in at Newcastle United

There is no denying that Wharton would be a spectacular signing for Newcastle United. In truth, there is a lot of regret that the Magpies missed out last year when he was available for a much smaller fee.

Crystal Palace will slap a huge price tag on Wharton now, and rightly so. It was reported last summer that Palace valued Wharton at £60million, which would prove to be a huge chunk out of Paul Mitchell’s summer transfer budget if his asking price remains the same in 2025.

While some may argue that Wharton would be money well spent for Newcastle United, it is currently difficult to see where he fits in to Eddie Howe’s side.

The Magpies are blessed with a lot of strong options in midfield. Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes are Newcastle’s two superstars in midfield, while they have a star of the future in Lewis Miley.

Given the fact that Wharton is best utilised in a deeper role, a move for the England international would surely only make sense if one of Newcastle’s existing midfielders were to depart.

That currently feels unlikely, as it has been claimed that Newcastle will not sell their stars this summer – even if they miss out on the Champions League.