Wharton also discussed his partnership with centre-forward Jean-Philippe Mateta. He noted that the weight and execution of his passes send a message to Mateta about how he should receive the ball. For example, if Wharton is passing the ball in behind the defense, he's telling Mateta to run onto it. If he's passing it in quickly, he's telling Mateta to take a touch or shoot. Wharton aims to make it easy for Mateta to finish the play.

Wharton often sees Mateta making runs in behind the defense, and his goal is to deliver the ball into the space so Mateta can run onto it and shoot or pass first time. If the pass is to Mateta's feet, Wharton tries to deliver it nicely on the floor to indicate which way he should turn or set.