Manchester City eye Liverpool and Manchester United target as Rodri replacement - Reports

Manchester City have joined Liverpool and Manchester United in the race to sign Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton. According to CaughtOffside, the defending champions are looking to add the Eagles star who has caught the eye in recent times with his performances.

This comes after Rodri suffered a season-ending injury to his cruciate ligament in the side's 2-2 draw against Arsenal (September 22). The defending champions are now keen to find cover for the Spaniard who has been instrumental to their recent success.

However, Manchester City face stiff competition from Liverpool according to the report, while TEAMtalk add that Manchester United have also earmarked him as a target.

Wharton burst onto the scene in the Premier League during the latter half of the previous campaign. He joined Crystal Palace from Championship side Blackburn in the January transfer window for a reported fee of £22 million. His performances earned him a call-up to England's squad for the 2024 Euros.

In all, he has made 23 appearances for the Eagles, notching four assists. The 20-year-old's profile both on and off the ball bears similarities to that of Rodri, making him a viable candidate to replace the Spaniard in the long-term as well.

City have also identified Atalanta's Ederson as another target. The Brazilian has been impressive for the Serie A side, bagging one assist in eight appearances across competitions this season.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have been keen to add a defensive midfielder in recent transfer windows. Their pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia ended up unsuccessful last season as the pair joined Chelsea, while they were unable to reach a deal to sign Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi this summer.

Gary Neville makes interesting claim about Liverpool in title race with Arsenal and Manchester City

Pundit Gary Neville has suggested that Liverpool are not in the same tier as Manchester City and Arsenal and that they will not be in the race for the Premier League title. Following the Reds' 2-1 win over Wolves on September 28, he said (via The Gary Neville podcast):

"They're going to have a good season it looks like and maybe get Champions League football."

"I didn't feel like I was watching title winners [at Wolves] being honest with you. They're well below Arsenal and City but I don't think that's shocking anybody," Neville added.

While it was not a convincing win over Wolves, Arne Slot's side have cemented themselves as the early leaders with five wins in six games.

Manchester City and Arsenal are second and third respectively, each a point off Liverpool. However, the loss of Rodri for the Cityzens and Martin Odegaard for the Gunners could make the race interesting.