Man Utd striker's latest night of gradual progress

Manchester United forward Ethan Wheatley is trying to rediscover momentum.

One of the hardest parts of developing young players is getting their loan development right. David Beckham’s loan to Preston in the mid-90s point to how the deals can be used to prepare young players for first team football.

Radek Vitek is currently thriving on loan at Bristol City, after previous loans at Blau-Linz and Accrington Stanley.

Ethan Wheatley is on his second loan of the season. He had scored three goals in 22 games for Northampton Town, a team battling relegation in League One.

United made the decision in the transfer window to recall Wheatley and loan him out to promotion chasing Bradford City, who are currently in fourth place.

Which loan move are you most optimistic about being a success?

Ethan Wheatley making gradual progress on loan

There is a statistical way to look at Ethan Wheatley’s loan spell at Bradford City that would be really negative.

Wheatley has 1 start, 0 goals, and in his last appearance he was brought on as a substitute, and then taken off.

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But there is a little more to the situation than meets the eye, and why we should take a cautiously optimistic approach instead.

Wheatley’s loan at Walsall at the end of last season did not work out, he failed to score at all. His loan at the start of this season with Northampton showed progress, where he scored his first professional goals.

United could have quite easily left him there, but the decision was made to test him in a more competitive environment.

It is naturally tougher for Wheatley to break into a promotion-challenging Bradford City team mid-season than his previous role at Northampton.

Wheatley has made five appearances in total. Last night’s game against Rotherham saw him play 50 minutes. This was his highest minutes-count in a Bradford City shirt so far.

He was brought on in the 24th minute as an early substitute due to an injury.

Wheatley had one shot blocked and created two chances as his side won 1-0. He was substituted in the 74th minute.

Explaining the decision to the Yorkshire Post after the game, manager Graham Alexander said that Wheatley is still building up his fitness following an injury.

He said: “He was absolutely breathing out of his backside. He’s missed a lot of football over the winter with his injury and he’s getting back up to speed.

“I did actually say to Chris (Lucketti) after five minutes, because it was quite early when he came on, I think we might have to use another nine at a certain point.”

Wheatley missed an entire month of football in January following his recall in December, before playing his first game on loan for new side Bradford City on February 7.

The good news for Wheatley is that he has a manager who wants to use him. He has selected him to play some part in all five games in February.

Wheatley has scored goals at a prolific level for United’s academy, before making his first team debut under Erik ten Hag at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Now is not the time to judge his loan spell. Switching clubs mid-season is tricky for any player, especially a youngster who has missed a month of football. He is making gradual progress and will be better off for playing 50 minutes in their latest game.

Bradford have 13 games remaining plus possible play-off matches. There is time for Wheatley to make an impact and become a hero, whatever his future holds with United.

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Gabriele Biancheri watches on

There were two other Manchester United loanees who could have been involved in Bradford’s win over Rotherham.

Dan Gore and Gabriele Biancheri are on loan with Rotherham, with the latter joining in the recent window.

Gore missed this game due to a minor injury. He has played 28 games in total for the club this season and is expected to return shortly.

Biancheri was an unused substitute. This is his first loan spell. He has made three appearances from the bench, playing 45 minutes total.

Wheatley by comparison has totalled 170 minutes for Bradford City so far.

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