Manchester United sent a number of Academy players out on loan at the start of the season, with one player being praised by his manager despite a bizarre error in his side’s most recent game.
Manchester United had a busy summer transfer window, bringing four new additions into the first-team squad, with Senne Lammens completing a late deadline-day move.
The club also approved several notable departures, including Alejandro Garnacho’s move to Chelsea and Antony’s switch to Real Betis, after both were deemed surplus to Rúben Amorim’s long-term plans.
United were just as active in the loan market, securing temporary moves for a number of academy players to ensure they gain meaningful first-team experience.
This summer also marked a new chapter for Jonny Evans, who stepped into the role of Head of Loans and Pathways following his retirement. Under his guidance, 14 Academy prospects have gone out on loan for the current campaign.
Ethan Wheatley impressing on loan
During the summer, United decided to send Ethan Wheatley on loan to play more minutes and gather valuable first-team experience, with League One side Northampton Town taking the opportunity to loan the 19-year-old.
Wheatley has thrived in League One, featuring in all of his new side’s games and starting 14 of the 16 played so far this season.
In his most recent game against Cardiff, the forward scored his third goal of the season with a terrific top corner finish. Unfortunately, just three minutes later, he put the ball into his own net after slicing an attempted corner clearance into his own net.
Speaking after the game, Northampton manager Kevin Nolan reflected on the Utd loanee’s performance, saying: “Ethan was a bit… I’ve just said to him that you’ve gotta go through them. I remember doing one of them away at Middlesbrough. I still remember it like it was yesterday.
“It’s a learning curve for him, but I thought he was excellent. He took his goal fantastically well, and we asked them a lot of questions.”
A number of impressive Man Utd loanees
A number of exciting youngsters have been sent out on loan by Man Utd to further their development and gain valuable minutes in the hope that they have a role to play in United’s first-team in years to come.
Radek Vitek has shone for Bristol City since joining them on loan, quickly becoming a fan-favourite, and jostling to become the first-choice option after keeping the club’s no.1 out of the team. He has kept six clean sheets in 16 appearances so far.
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Harry Amass has been one of the greatest success stories so far this season, with his “quality” performances not going unnoticed by Sheffield Wednesday fans, having started every possible game in the Championship so far.
While not all of the 14 prospects will regularly play this season, it’s much more beneficial for these young talents to be involved in the first-team squads of their respective loan clubs rather than still be playing in the academy, as they continue to adapt to first-team action and learn valuable lessons before returning to their parent club at the end of the season.
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