Ethan Wheatley’s already a Man Utd history-maker but stunning rise including Liverpool heroics shows he could be a star

ETHAN WHEATLEY’S place in the Manchester United history books is secure after a week he will never forget.

But there are hopes around Old Trafford that the 18-year-old forward is going to be a knock-out for them in future.

On Tuesday night he scored the two goals which helped the Red Devils clinch the Premier League Under 18s cup final against Manchester City.

The club’s new technical director Jason Wilcox was in the stands at Leigh Sports Village and must have been impressed.

And just 24 hours later, Wheatley was called off the bench for his first team debut in stoppage time of the 4-2 win over Sheffield United.

In doing so, the Stockport born forward became the 250th academy graduate to play for the United first team – a real milestone for the club.

Yet anyone who follows the junior teams at Carrington will know he has been making headlines for some time now with his goal-scoring and quality.

Earlier this season he was singled out for some rough treatment in a game against old rivals Liverpool – so took his revenge in the best possible way.

He scored a hat-trick in a 9-1 rout in the return fixture and marked one of his goals with the boxing celebration.

It was the same one made famous by a certain Wayne Rooney – which saw him fall to the ground in front of his team-mates.

The youngster clearly knows his United history. He was also thrilled when he got to meet Cristiano Ronaldo behind the scenes at Carrington in 2022 – before his second spell at United turned sour.

Wheatley only signed professional terms with United in January but had already been training with the first team for a few months by then.

As well as his hauls against City and Liverpool, he scored four in a game against Southampton Under 18s earlier this season.

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