Ethan Wheatley opened his scoring tally at the U19 European Championship last night against Germany.
Down 5-1 in the 50th minute, Wheatley’s goal sparked an incredible comeback for England over the ensuing 10 minutes.
The United striker poked in from close range to make it 5-2 after Zach Abbott’s headed attempt was spilled by the German keeper.
The goal sparked life into the young England side after a discouraging opening half which saw them overrun by Germany.
England suddenly couldn’t stop scoring as Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny, Zach Abbott, and Jesse Derry scored in quick succession for England to make it 5-5.
The result secured a point for England as they go into the final group stage match on two points where they will face off against group toppers Netherlands.
Ethan Wheatley played the full 90 minutes against Germany after coming from the bench for the final eight minutes in the tournament opener against Norway.
England’s first match also ended with the score deadlocked at 2-2 but Wheatley wasn’t able to hit the net on that occasion despite a couple of chances.
It was a mixed season for the 19 year old after a disappointing loan spell at Walsall.
Performing excellently for United’s U21s, Wheatley finished the season with nine goals in just 12 Premier League 2 appearances, including three goals in three after returning for the end of season play-offs.
Wheatley’s foray into senior football didn’t see the same success though, making just four appearances during his loan spell and taking public criticism from the Walsall’s manager who questioned his training performances.
To Wheatley’s credit, Wheatley’s response to being dropped from the squad led manager Mat Sadler to say “since he hasn’t been in the squad, he has trained so, so well and put himself in consideration to be on the pitch.”
Ultimately, Wheatley wasn’t able to break back into the Walsall side though and returned to United at the end of the season.
Despite the disappointing spell on loan, Wheatley has continued to perform well at youth level for both United and England, showing he has plenty of talent to work with.
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Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
