A young Manchester United star whose talents have impressed the likes of Wayne Rooney and Bruno Fernandes could be heading out on loan.
Ethan Wheatley's services were previously courted by Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham and their League One rivals Stockport County. However, to top it all off for the Hollywood club, the 18-year-old has now been linked with a move to Dutch second-tier side SC Cambuur in January, local media outlet the Leeuwarder Courant reports.
A move to the Netherlands is likely to be seen as a better destination for the striker to develop his career than North Wales. Wheatley was a star player for United's under-18s last season, scoring 12 goals in 16 league appearances between the youth years.
His performances came as he played a key role for the U18s and claimed a treble. To their delight, United won two of those trophies, at the expense of local rivals Manchester City.
Wheatley scored twice against City to win the PL Cup at Leigh Sports Village and was watched from the stands by none other than United legend Wayne Rooney, who the Manchester Evening News reported was said to have been impressed with his brace.
Last season, Wheatley also became the 250th player from the club's academy to make a senior bow at Old Trafford. He reached the big milestone when he was substituted onto the pitch in a 4–2 win against Sheffield United on 24 April.
Wheatley said that night: “It's a great club with a huge history, especially in the academy. It's an honor to make my debut and that number – 250 – that's a little bit extra.” He added: “I was just excited when I got the call [to come on]There were some nerves, but once I got stripped down and ready to go, I was excited and did my best for the team.”
He later revealed that shortly before coming on, his teammate Bruno Fernandes promised to give him an assist. The bright young talent was unfortunately unable to mark the occasion with a goal, despite the United captain's best efforts.
Wheatley told MUTV afterwards: “He (Fernandes) pulled me aside and said, 'I've got nine minutes to try and score you a goal.' So I just tried to get positions for him, but obviously that didn't happen, but hopefully soon.”
Although he couldn't use him on that occasion, Fernandes has backed Wheatley to score many goals in his career. He said: “I tried to get him a goal because he's a young boy coming through the academy; I know the moment is huge for him and getting a goal on his first appearance would be huge.”
He added: “I couldn't get the assist for him, but I tried, at the moment I rushed it a bit too much. If he gets chances in the future, he will get his goals too.”
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