BBC: Man Utd officially recall senior player from loan spell prematurely after making 25 appearances

(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Manchester United have recalled Ethan Wheatley from his loan spell with Northampton Town, as confirmed by BBC Sport’s Simon Stone this afternoon.The 19-year-old will now return to Old Trafford and have his situation assessed by club chiefs before potentially embarking on a new loan venture.Wheatley has garnered ‘huge interest’ this month and is expected to seal another half-season deal before the February 2 deadline.Since joining the Cobblers in August, Wheatley has made 25 appearances across all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting a further four.He put pen to paper on a new deal last March that keeps him tied to United until June 2028, plus the option of an additional year, so the club can monitor his progress and development with the assurance that he is on their books for a while yet.The forward has already made four senior appearances for United, but is still awaiting his maiden goal in a Red Devils shirt.His debut came in the form of a one-minute cameo against Sheffield United in April 2024, after which Wheatley also featured for 10 minutes against Crystal Palace and for two minutes in defeat to Arsenal before the end of the campaign.Outside of the league, the teenager played five minutes in the closing stages of a 5-2 League Cup triumph over Leicester City in October 2024.From Wheatley’s point of view, he’ll likely be well aware that for him to play any role in United’s first team, they will have to qualify for Europe in some form this year. Otherwise, there simply won’t be enough matches for him to get any game time – as was the case this term, where the team will play their fewest number of games since 1915.