Arne Slot should replace Thiago with £60m-rated midfielder who models his game on Sergio Busquets.

Thiago is set to depart Liverpool at the end of his contract in June having made just shy of a century of appearances, winning a League and FA Cup.

Now, Slot will begin the process of identifying a replacement with a similar skillset and one man would be absolutely perfect.

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Arne Slot should try to sign Adam Wharton for Liverpool

Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton should be very high on Slot’s list of transfer targets this summer and he is being considered.

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Wharton only arrived at Palace in January, signing in a £22m deal from Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers, but he’s already made a colossal impact and has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s provisional England squad.

The left-footed number eight is thought to be valued at £60m and is in demand ahead of the summer transfer window.

That’s hardly surprising when you take a look at his phenomenal FBref statistics.

Adam Wharton statistics

Wharton, who models his game on Sergio Busquets, ranks in the top six per cent for tackles per 90 compared to his positional peers across the big five leagues.

He’s also high up for interceptions (top 15 per cent), further amplifying how defensively sound he is, which is very impressive given he only turned 20 in February.

Going forward, too, he excels, sitting in the top 11 per cent for assists, so the data suggest he’s the full package that can do everything as a number eight.

Wharton would be an exceptional signing for Liverpool.

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