Wheatley becomes 250th Academy graduate to play for Man Utd
Ethan Wheatley: Scored both goals for United's U18s in Premier League Cup final win
Written by Training Ground Guru —
Ethan Wheatley became the 250th Academy graduate to feature for Manchester United’s first team when he made his debut in stoppage time of the 4-2 win over Sheffield United.
This capped a remarkable 24 hours for the 18-year-old, who had scored both of United Under-18s' goals as they beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League Cup final on Tuesday evening.
Wheatley was taken off at half-time of that game - along with Harry Amass and Louis Jackson - so he would be ready for Erik ten Hag’s senior side the following night.
After making his senior debut, Stockport-born Wheatley said: "It's a great club with a massive history, especially in the Academy. It's an honour to make my debut and that number 250, that's a little bit extra.
"I was just excited and when I got the call [to come on]. There were a bit of nerves, but as soon as I was stripped and ready to go, I was excited and did my best for the team.
"Last year was a bit stop-start and I didn't really develop as much as I wanted, but this season I've been able to stay on the pitch and work on using my body and other technical bits. I was talking to Colin (Little, U18s Assistant) before the game. I just feel like everything has come into place in these last few weeks, and I'm feeling a lot more confident."
Ten Hag said: "Credits to the Academy, but you also see the club is growing. It's clear, we are improving, there are players coming up to the first team. We are very pleased the 250th academy player made his debut tonight."
In January, Omari Forson became the 249th Academy graduate to play for United's first team when he came off the bench to replace Marcus Rashford (another Academy graduate) in the FA Cup win against Wigan.
Shortly afterwards, Academy Director Nick Cox told TGG: “This football club, in terms of youth development, surpasses all others. That’s in terms of the amount of time we have been doing it and the success we have had at it.
“Over 4,000 games with a youth player in a first team, over 86 years. We’ve been developing players for 91 years. We’ve just seen our 249th debut and know that’s half of all the players ever to play for Manchester United. There ain’t anyone in the world who can talk about those stats.”
An astonishing 101 of United’s 250 graduates have hailed from the Greater Manchester area. The club have had at least one Academy graduate in a matchday squad for more than 80 years.
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