Liverpool's new Trent: FSG prepare record deal for "generational talent"

Jeremie Frimpong was asked about a lack of silverware equating to failure at Liverpool this season, and the right-sider referenced basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis, a 6 foot 11 power forward for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, was famously asked about his team’s lack of trophies in 2023, and his response was poetic and it was perfect.

“Michael Jordan played 15 years,” he said. “Won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That’s what you’re telling me? I’m asking you a question, yes or no?”

Still, success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan. Liverpool’s title-winning 2024/25 season was embraced as a triumph of the collective, and it was, but there’s probably been a lack of responsibility for the club’s failings this term, and that needs to change.

Some of these Reds superstars could take a leaf from Giannis’ playbook. Frimpong, at least, has done so, but improvements are still needed across the park, and FSG have their sights set on a star who can guide Liverpool back to winning ways.

Liverpool lining up record-breaking summer transfer

Liverpool have struggled this season. They will indeed go without silverware, and only qualifying for the Champions League could absolve Slot of irreversible damage.

However, Giannis’ words do ring true, and it’s understandable that fluency has taken a hit when so many changes were made last summer, and with Trent Alexander-Arnold departing at the end of his contract.

Liverpool’s Premier League Chance Creation
Season	Goals per 90	Chances per 90
25/26	1.6	2.7
24/25	2.3	3.9
23/24	2.3	3.4
22/23	2.0	3.3
21/22	2.5	3.5

Frimpong joined from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for around £30m, and Florian Wirtz too. The pair, in the aggregate, have been supposed to replace the English right-back’s playmaking presence, but it hasn’t happened.

However, Liverpool could sign their new version of Alexander-Arnold in Adam Wharton, with TEAMtalk revealing the Crystal Palace midfielder is at the centre of a potential summer bid from the Anfield side.

The Eagles will look for at least £70m for Wharton’s signature this season – which would mark a club-record sale – but he is a maestro of a midfielder, almost Un-English in the way that he plays the game.

Competition will be thick, and signing him will be even more difficult if Palace win the Conference League and head into Europe’s second-tier competition next year. However, Liverpool must secure the new Alexander-Arnold.

Why Adam Wharton could be Liverpool’s new Trent

Palace have grown as a Premier League team under Oliver Glasner. Their branches have reached up and they have touched European air this season.

Dubbed a “generational talent” by journalist Matthew Stanger, Wharton has been crucial. His ball-playing ability is distinctive and it is tailored toward top-level football. It feels inevitable that he will star for a team competing at Europe’s highest level, hailed as a “cheat code” on the ball by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Wharton has always been creative, but he has developed into a more combative and complete player over the past year, building from a base that helped secure the FA Cup title last season.

Adam Wharton’s Premier League Development
Stats (* per 90)	24/25	25/26
Matches (starts)	20 (16)	28 (26)
Goals + Assists	0 + 2	0 + 5
Touches*	45.7	51.6
Accurate passes*	26.7 (79%)	29.6 (79%)
Possession lost*	10.8	12.3
Big chances created	5	11
Key passes*	1.3	1.1
Succ. dribbles*	0.1	0.4
Ball recoveries*	5.1	4.8
Tackles + interceptions*	2.7	2.9
Clearances*	1.4	1.4
Duels won*	3.2 (46%)	4.3 (49%)

He is more effective in his creative output now, and though Liverpool won’t directly replace Alexander-Arnold’s quality on the right side through Wharton’s arrival, it would help to reorient the side’s attacking motions and wider structure, perhaps feeding into the future success of underperforming players like Frimpong and Wirtz.

Indeed, creating big chances at a rate of 0.45 per game, the Three Lions star ranks among the top 6% of midfielders. Moreover, he is athletic and happy to work hard, covering ground, chasing down loose balls.

Liverpool could do with some more meat in the middle of the park, and in that, Wharton is not the answer. However, they would be foolish not to explore a move for the new Trent, especially if Alexis Mac Allister ends up leaving.

Frimpong is right to have referenced Giannis when asked for his assessment of Liverpool’s difficult campaign. Down the line, this could be viewed as a fundamental part of the squad’s development.

However, changes are still needed, and Wharton could prove to be the perfect way to reconnect the creative blocks and get Liverpool’s build-up system flowing once again.