Adam Wharton was set up perfectly to succeed in the Premier League by Jon Dahl Tomasson, according to Head of Academy Stuart Jones.

Blackburn Rovers recouped a club-record fee for their talented midfielder in January. Since moving to Crystal Palace, he has shone and shown his quality on the biggest stage.

The £22million fee Rovers negotiated now looks a bargain, with Wharton starting every match for Oliver Glasner's side since his debut. Palace fans have already fallen in love with their new signing, in the same way Rovers supporters did.

Wharton's talents have now been recognised by England, with Gareth Southgate calling him up to their training camp ahead of the European Championships.

READ MORE: Inside story of Rovers' season and two weeks that ended an era

Whilst his quality in possession has never been doubted, the improvement without the ball has been sizeable over the 12 months. That side of the game was something Tomasson drilled into Wharton, which even saw him left out of the side for a period in his debut campaign.

Jones believes that grounding helped form the players everyone sees before them today.

"What I'd say about Adam in terms of mentality, he's a grounded young man, very humble," he told The Lancashire Telegraph.

"He takes everything in his stride, he is quite laid back. It didn't surprise me to a point and then he has some outstanding attributes in terms of his possession with the ball his football intelligence and his technical ability. 

"I'd say we have also seen the other side of his game too, he has improved in the Premier League.

"He's been terrific and fair play to him. Working with Jon (Dahl Tomasson) was a great grounding for him previously.

"A big part for him was having to work on his out-of-possession play as well as with the ball. I know Adam was drilled relentlessly around that and he's improved massively.

"That has really helped when he's gone into the Premier League and he has improved and gone up another level."

The Wharton's affiliation with the Rovers Academy is long-standing, with Adam following Scott through the youth ranks and into the first-team.

Jones has held a close relationship with the Whartons for many years and felt as much happiness for them as Adam, following his maiden England call-up.

"We've known them for a long time, over 13 years with both Scott and Adam. They're a lovely family, really humble and down to Earth," he said.

"I'm as proud for them as I am for Adam. The support they have given him over the years. I am sure they are really excited for him."

Wharton will now join up with England ahead of friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland. Southgate will cut his squad down to a maximum of 26 on June 8 ahead of the Euros beginning in Germany on the 14th.