City's Wharton enquiry meets a firm Palace wall
Manchester City's interest in Adam Wharton has hit a familiar dead end, with Crystal Palace making it abundantly clear the midfielder is not for sale this summer.
According to David Ornstein and Sam Lee in The Athletic, City have made an enquiry about the England international. The response from Selhurst Park was about as welcoming as a South London winter: no intention of selling, thank you very much.
Wharton sits on a recruitment list that, by all accounts, is longer than a queue for the Etihad concourse at half-time. The names of the other candidates have not been made public, which is probably just as well — City tend to keep such matters close to the chest until a deal is all but done.
For now, the club's midfield planning continues with one door firmly closed. Whether that leads City to push harder or simply move on to the next name on the list remains to be seen, though Palace's stance suggests the latter is the more likely route.