It's been a long old Premier League season for Crystal Palace fans this year, and it's still only early March.
The South Londoners have picked up some impressive results here and there, such as their 2-2 draw away to Manchester City, but there have been several humbling defeats as well, such as the 5-0 thrashing away to Arsenal.
Unfortunately for Roy Hodgson, there were just too many of the latter for him to keep his position at the club, and he was finally replaced with the highly-rated Oliver Glasner last month.
The Austrian has already picked up four points from his first six, and with new signing Adam Wharton making a positive start to life in the capital, things are starting to look up for the Eagles, especially as the academy could soon gift them the perfect midfield partner for their new signing.
Why Crystal Palace signed Adam Wharton
Despite the poor results on the pitch, the Eagles enjoyed a relatively successful January transfer window, with Colombian right-back Daniel Munoz signing from KRC Genk and Blackburn Rovers gem Wharton following close behind.
While the addition of the attacking full-back is undoubtedly exciting, the young Englishman's arrival garnered the most attention from fans and pundits alike – and for good reason.
Despite being so young, the Blackburn-born maestro has a considerable amount of experience at the senior level, making 51 appearances for Rovers' first team, all before his 20th birthday.
Described as "the English Cambiasso" and as "one of the most interesting young midfielders in England" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Wharton has played the majority of his games in defensive and central midfield, starting 29 games as the former and seven as the latter at Blackburn.
Defensive Midfield
43
2
5
Central Midfield
19
3
4
Attacking Midfield
9
1
1
Right Midfield
2
0
1
Left Midfield
2
0
0
Right Winger
1
1
0
The talented gem has already made four appearances for the south Londoners since making his move, and with Glasner starting him as a defensive midfielder in his two games in charge, it's clear that he will have a big future at Selhurst Park.
However, with the Austrian manager favouring a more progressive and attacking style of play, Wharton will need some fresh legs to play alongside him in the middle of the park, as for as talented as Jefferson Lerma is, he'll turn 30 this year, so it's unlikely he'll be in the midfield for the long-term.
So, it's good news that Palace's excellent academy could be about to provide Glasner with the perfect Wharton partner in the coming seasons.
Why fans should be excited about Jack Wells-Morrison
The academy gem who could form a brilliant partnership with Wharton in the years to come is 20-year-old Englishman, Jack Wells-Morrison.
Born and raised in south London, Wells-Morrison has been a part of the youth set-up since he was six years old and has fought his way through the various youth teams to reach the U21s in the 2021/22 season.
Since then, the "real talent", as reporter Aaron Challoner described him, has captained the team, made 59 appearances, scored nine goals and provided six assists, mainly from a central or defensive midfield role.
He has made it onto the first-team bench five times over the last few years and looks set to go out on loan next season after signing a new deal with the club in November 2023.
It might take a loan or two before the talented youngster can make it into the first team consistently, but by that point, Lerma could well be on his way out, and with central and defensive midfield being his strongest positions, there is no reason why Wells-Morrison couldn't form an excellent partnership with Wharton.
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Ultimately, it may take some time, but Palace should use their superb academy system and help Glasner build a team of players who know what it means to pull on that shirt and who can stick around for the long haul.