Ethan Wheatley, who made his senior debut for Manchester United under Erik ten Hag last term, has signed a new contract at Old Trafford, while he is currently out on loan at Walsall in League Two
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Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)
Manchester United starlet Ethan Wheatley has inked a new contract at Old Trafford.
The teenager, currently out on loan at League Two table-toppers Walsall, has signed a deal that commits his future to the club until the summer of 2028, with an option for an additional year.
Homegrown starlet Wheatley, who joined United aged nine, made history as the club's 250th academy graduate to debut for the first team last season. His maiden appearance came in a 4-2 victory over Sheffield United at Old Trafford last April. Since then, he's made three more appearances, the most recent being in a 5-2 triumph over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round earlier this season, before joining the Saddlers in January.
After signing his new deal, Wheatley shared his joy on Instagram: "Amazing feeling to have signed a new deal with this great club. Another proud moment for me and my family."
Wheatley has found regular game time hard to come by at the Bescot Stadium however, making just three appearances and last featuring in a matchday squad over a month ago.
Despite bringing in several new faces in the January transfer window, Walsall manager Mat Sadler has struggled to integrate some into his plans.
Last month, Sadler revealed: "Josh [Gordon] looks like he might be out for a little bit. Ethan, of course, we're going to need all of them."
He also praised one player's efforts, saying, "What I will say about Ethan, since he hasn't been in the squad, he has trained so, so well and put himself in consideration to be on the pitch."
Wheatley, who penned his first professional deal with United in January last year, revealed after his United debut that, shortly before he came on, team-mate Bruno Fernandes promised to provide him with an assist. The young talent was unfortunately unable to mark the occasion with a goal despite the best efforts of the United captain.
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Image:
Carl Recine, Getty Images)
Wheatley told MUTV afterwards: "He (Fernandes) pulled me to the side and said, ‘I’ve got nine minutes to try to get you a goal.’ So I was just trying to get into positions for him, and obviously, it didn’t come, but hopefully soon."
While he was unable to set the youngster up on that occasion, Fernandes backed Wheatley to score plenty of goals in his career. He said: "I tried to give him a goal because he is a young kid coming through the academy; I know the moment is massive for him and getting a goal in his first appearance would be massive. I couldn’t give the assist for him but I tried, at the moment I rushed it a little bit too much.
"If he gets chances in the future he will get his goals too."
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