Manchester United's Asian centre-forward debuted to set a milestone for the 22-goal club in the season, beating Liverpool and Manchester City in a row

Romy's Manchester United blog

2024-04-25 07:26Posted in Guangdong Sports Creators

Manchester United Academy youngster Ethan Wheatley came on in stoppage time in the Premier League against Sheffield United, and while it was only garbage time, it didn't stop him from setting a milestone. Wheatley became the 250th Academy player in Manchester United history to make his senior debut.

Fans are no strangers to Wheatley, who wears the number 84, and has been called up to Ten Hag's first-team squad in recent games due to numerous injuries, and even sat on the bench in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Since Omari Forson made his stoppage-time debut in Marcus Rashford's 2-0 FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic in January, the number of Academy graduates playing for United's first team has stood at 249. Now, the tall Wheatley made his debut and became one of the people who went down in history. He has an excellent height condition, more than 1.9 meters, which is taller than Hojlund.

After the game, Wheatley revealed the tidbits from his game. 'Bruno [Fernandes] pulled me aside and said he had nine minutes to try to get me an assist for a goal. Wheatley said.

Of course, the time was too short for Fernandes to achieve their goal, and perhaps this helped to close the gap between him and Wheatley, who scored 15 goals in midfield, beating Hojlund (14) to become the top scorer in the first team, but still far short of Wheatley in terms of goals scored this season.

In addition to the injury crisis, Whitt also won the opportunity with his own performances, scoring six goals against two bitter rivals Liverpool and Manchester City! On Tuesday, Wheatley's brace helped Manchester United's under-18 youth team win the Under-18 Premier League 2-1 Manchester City and become the "double" after winning the North Division of the Premier League. The 18-year-old's two goals took his tally to 22 goals and five assists this season.

And, with a first-team game to play the following day, Wheatley was substituted at half-time, otherwise he could have scored a hat-trick. At the time, Manchester United's new technical director Jason Wilcox was also watching from the stands. After Wheatley was off, United relied on two stoppage-time saves from goalkeeper Elie Harrison to hold on to the win and lift the trophy.

Wheatley's game that caught the attention of Manchester United around the world was the 9-1 thrashing of Liverpool by Manchester United's Under-18s, in which he contributed four goals. It is worth mentioning that this is Wheatley's second "big four" this season, and his four goals against Southampton last year have attracted the attention of first-team boss Ten Hag.

And the imitation of legendary goalscorer Rooney's punching KO celebration after scoring a goal has raised his profile to the next level. The incident stemmed from the fact that in the first leg of the meeting between the two teams, Wheatley was clearly elbowed by a Liverpool player, but the referee did not say anything, so he used this action to revisit the old story and show that he had successfully avenged himself.

Wheatley has 17 goals and three assists for United's Under-18s, while his Under-21s have three goals and two assists, leading the academy's top scorers, ahead of team-mate Gabriele Biancheri with 12 goals and two assists and Ethan Williams with 15 goals and eight assists.

Wheatley only signed his first professional contract with United in January, when he was already celebrating his 18th birthday. According to FA rules, the youngster can sign a professional contract at the age of 17, and the Red Devils waited a year to sign Wheatley, showing that he is not a super-talent. However, the striker's rising star has made substantial progress this season and helped the youth team to a long-term unbeaten league run that has earned him a new contract.

"I signed my first professional contract with Manchester United and it was a proud moment. Thanks to my family and all the people who made this possible, the hard work continues. Wheatley said at the time.

It is worth mentioning that Wheatley, who was born in Stockport, England, is not only a fellow countryman of Kobe Maynor, but also has Asian ancestry, and his grandmother is from Selangor, Malaysia. Wheatley also confirmed that he often returns to his hometown for vacations. "Yes, my grandmother was born and raised in Selangor. However, she immigrated to England at a very young age. When I was younger, my family used to go to Kuala Lumpur for holidays. Wheatley said.

Malaysian football has tried to recruit Wheatley to represent the team, and if he accepts, he could become a rival with the Chinese national team in the future. In the history of Manchester United, there is also no shortage of Asian players, such as Chinese international Dong Fangzhuo, South Korean star Park Ji-sung, Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa and Iraqi teenager Zidane Iqbal. Wheatley, of course, has represented England Under-17s and would be more likely to play for the Three Lions if given the chance.

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