‘He was different’: the story of Adam Wharton’s swift ascent to Euro 2024

Talk in his brother’s kitchen two years ago led to 20-year-old Crystal Palace midfielder going to Euro 2024 with England

Adam Wharton’s meteoric rise to England’s Euro 2024 squad has taken many supporters by surprise but it was the culmination of a plan hatched in his brother’s kitchen two years ago. Wharton Jr had just been handed his first professional contract by Blackburn after turning 18 and sat down with Scott – who is six years older and plays in defence for their boyhood club – and their agent to discuss his ambitions.

“You have to set goals,” James Featherstone, the agent, says. “At the time he had reached a level where we knew he was going to have a career, so it was all about at what level. I’ve always said he was special, although I don’t think Adam’s ever necessarily been someone who would characterise himself like that. So he needed some encouragement that he could shoot for the stars. Adam’s not the sort of person who would have said when he was 18: ‘I’m going to play for England.’ It was all about setting some specific metrics for him to try and achieve and how he was going to do it. We put a plan together and ultimately he committed to it.” Continue reading...

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