Manchester United’s first team ensured the fans that they have a decent immediate future with a spirited performance despite loss to Arsenal, and their loanees are in the same boat.
The loan army this season are being handled by Jonny Evans, the new loan manager at Man Utd, tasked with placing these players and monitoring their progress.
His work so far has paid dividends in the form of Radek Vitek, who has shone at Bristol City in limited appearances so far.
He has been far ahead of the others, though, which is a worry. Now, it looks like another loanee could join him if he can manage to do just one thing.
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Kevin Nolan picks out Ethan Wheatley for praise
Since making history by becoming the 250th academy graduate to debut for Man Utd, Ethan Wheatley hasn’t had the best of times at Old Trafford.
Ineos’ aggressive recruitment in the youth ranks saw the likes of Chido Obi jump him in the pecking order, while his own loans haven’t gone according to plan.
He struggled to make a mark at Walsall last season and didn’t get off to the best of starts at his current spell at Northampton either.
Wheatley is yet to score for Northampton in three starts, playing the full 90 in each, so he clearly has the manager’s trust.
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His team are winless in those three games, scoring just a single goal, losing two, and drawing one, but Wheatley seems to have made a mark.
After their recent game, a 2-0 loss to Stevenage, manager Kevin Nolan said that Wheatley was a “real positive”, and if he just gets his first goal, he can kick on.
He said (via Northampton Town’s official website): “I’m pleased with a lot of what we did today, but we have to do it for the 90 minutes, and we have to stop gifting teams goals.
“The goals we conceded could have been avoided, and if we’d have taken the chance we had at 0-0, it’s a different game.
“Ethan Wheatley was a real positive today, and he just needs that first goal. I’m disappointed because we’ve come away from home again, and we’ve gifted it to the opposition.
“I felt we deserved at least a point today, but we can’t keep saying that, we need to do it.”
Wheatley’s race is not run yet
Wheatley will turn 20 in January, so the expectations from him, which were sky high when he was dominating in the academy, need to be managed.
At 20, a player who will likely go on to play for Man Utd is either already doing so or impressing in the lower leagues, neither of which is the case with Wheatley.
However, his fundamentals have always been polished, like knowing where to make a run, how to press in a structure, and the small things like linking up and laying off the ball.
Once he adds the final product, he can quickly rise up the ranks, even if it’s not at Man Utd.
His goalscoring record at the academy level wasn’t borne out of raw physical domination, which is a good indicator of how his game will translate to senior set-up.
Unfortunate loans with struggling teams have held him back so far, but that also builds character. Like Nolan said, his overall play has been pleasing.
One goal can change everything.