Adam Wharton has insisted he is ready to affect games for England at Euro 2024 if called upon this summer.
Wharton was included in the squad for this summer’s European Championship after an impressive start to his career at Crystal Palace.
The 20-year-old signed for the Eagles from Championship strugglers Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window, before starring as Palace ended the season in superb form under new head coach Oliver Glasner.
Wharton made his senior England debut during the warm-up friendly against Bosnia but is yet to feature in the tournament to date. Trent Alexander-Arnold has started the opening two games in a central midfield position and Wharton offers a more natural alternative to the Liverpool full-back, with England short of recognised options to anchor the midfield.
Despite having played just 28 minutes of international football to date, Wharton has insisted he is ready to make an impact. He believes he has ‘similarities’ to Kalvin Phillps, after Southgate suggested England had not replaced the latter – impressive during the run to the final of Euro 2020 – in the squad.
“I have got belief that no matter who, where, when I play football that I can affect a game so you have to think like that,” Wharton said at a press conference.
“If I think I can’t handle this, then what am I doing here? The way I look at it now, I believe I can affect any game I play in so I am just making sure I am ready if I am called upon to help.
“You look at the last Euros and Kalvin was one of the best players for England and we got to the final.
“If there was someone like that playing at this tournament, you’d be saying the same thing I think.
“It’s difficult to say because I’ve not seen too much of him the last couple of seasons. But there’s probably similarities in where we play and certain attributes, but there’s obviously going to be things he’s better than me at and I’m better than him at.”
