Blackburn Rovers midfielder Adam Wharton has completed his medical ahead of joining Crystal Palace in a deal worth £22million.
The England under-20s international is understood to have attracted interest from multiple Premier League clubs, including Newcastle United, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur but it is Palace who moved quickest to secure his signature.
Wharton will sign a five-and-a-half-year contract at Selhurst Park in what is a club record sale for Blackburn, who host Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup later this month.
Rovers beat Wrexham on Monday to set up a meeting with the Magpies. Speaking after the game, their manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, who played for Newcastle in 1997-98, was questioned about Wharton’s future.
He said: “We know what I think about Adam, he is a great player and I enjoy working with him daily.
“We know there are a lot of rumours. Adam is a great player, and maybe, one day an England player in time. There’s a chance he could go away, that’s football, that is life.
“We know our Rovers family are proud of Adam if he plays here or another club. Will that be tomorrow, in the summer or the next year? Let’s wait and see.
“Everyone is ambitious, Adam enjoys playing our kind of football. If a player gets the opportunity to play Premier League football, it’s not a difficult choice.
“What I said before, there was a bid and the club said no. That was a good choice. There are a few days left and hopefully, we’ll get some signings in those days.”
