‘When Pirlo does that, the world stops’ – Joe Cole praises Adam Wharton’s ‘beautiful little pass’ in Crystal Palace’s win over Tottenham Hotspur

Wharton deftly passed two Spurs defenders and clipped the ball into the path of Ismaila Sarr, who slotted it past a helpless Gugliemo Vicario to score Palace’s third goal seven minutes before half-time.

Cole mostly ran out of top reviews for Wharton’s performance, but praised his second assist in particular, comparing him to Italian legend Andrea Pirlo as a result.

“I love this. This was the moment of the game for me, because the vision of getting this into him and receiving on his back foot and just letting it float there, that’s great,” Cole said.

“If Pirlo did that, the world would stop.”

Spurs fans leave before half-time after Sarr scores third goal for Palace

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Fellow TNT pundit Peter Crouch added: “It was really great how he found the space for it and it was a great pass to him.”

“But he teased (Joao) Parinha, he teased Vicario to come out, and Sarr just came forward. It was perfect.”

The former West Ham and Chelsea attacking midfielder believes Wharton’s performance has been so good that Cole has secured his place in England’s World Cup squad with a chance of repeating it in the summer.

He added: “I would love to take him but there are a lot of good players right now. Elliott Anderson is probably a little above him and obviously Declan Rice is in there.”

“He should have that quality, because he can transcend anywhere in the world. If he plays against Argentina or Spain, he can always bring that quality. It was just a beautiful little pass.”

‘What a great player’ – Strand Larsen praises Wharton

The Norwegian forward has proven to be a good addition to the Crystal Palace squad, scoring three goals in his first five games since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the January transfer window.

The 26-year-old already has a good relationship with Wharton, telling TNT Sports that Larsen runs when the midfielder gets on the ball.

“What a great player. You think when he gets the ball, run and he’ll find you. He made those two passes look really easy today, but they weren’t,” he said.

“Once he receives the ball, I just time it. I saw the goalie come out a little bit, so I tried to get the ball under his feet.”

‘What a great player’ – Strand Larsen praises Wharton for assisting in Palace win at Spurs

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Wharton himself was modest and did not take full credit, attributing at least some of the goal to Searle’s pace.

Palace and England fans alike will be excited about Wharton’s plans to continue his development, with performances like the one against Spurs being just the tip of the iceberg for Wharton, who has described himself as his harshest critic.

He said, “No, to be fair, (the assist) was fine!

“I thought it was a bit too much, but Ish (Ismaila Sarr) was the one who scored in the end, which may have been a good thing. He’s very fast and it was great to get him, but the three points were huge.”

“Recently we’ve been scoring well in consecutive games, but we’ve had a sticky patch and the goals haven’t come easily. And now they’re starting to come more often, which is great for our attackers.”

‘Playing this year is crazy’ – Wharton sets target after Palace’s win at Spurs

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“It gives them more confidence and it’s great for the team because if they score it will help us.

“There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement. I’ll be the first to criticize myself after the game, but there’s a lot to work on.

“I’m not perfect by any means, but I’m just working on it every day with the coach and the team. Hopefully, I can continue to improve and help the team.”