Man Utd gem's EFL loan not going to plan as goal-threat scarcely used amid monumental collapse

Manchester United youngster Ethan Wheatley was left out of the Walsall matchday squad for a 12th time since his loan move to the club as The Saddlers were beaten 2-0 by Barrow over the weekend.

It was a 10th-game without a win for Walsall who are hanging on by a thread to an automatic promotion place in League Two. When Wheatley made the switch to the club in late January, they sat top of the fourth tier with 58 points from 26 games. The top three are promoted automatically in League Two and Walsall sat 13 points clear of fourth-placed Port Vale and 14 clear of Bradford City.

Port Vale are now top of the table and four points above Walsall while the Bantams sit second, one point above Walsall. The club sit third but their automatic promotion hopes are no longer in their own hands as Doncaster Rovers are one point behind them but with a game in hand.

Ethan Wheatley rarely used during Walsall loan

Since his move to Walsall, the club have played 17 games - winning just twice in that run. Wheatley came off the bench in a 3-0 loss to Bradford City in late January before starting in a 2-0 defeat against Fleetwood Town and in a 2-2 draw with Salford City.

Walsall manager Matt Sadler then left him out of 11 of the next 12 matchday squads, as he was only an unused substitute in the other game. He came off the bench earlier this month in a 3-2 loss to Port Vale before being dropped against Barrow.

"What I will say about Ethan, since he hasn't been in the squad, he trained so well and put himself in consideration to be on the pitch," Sadler recently told the Express & Star in mid-March when questioned over Wheatley’s limited minutes.

"It was difficult for him when he first came in and we shouldn't forget that. It was difficult circumstances for him with the changes to the front end and unfortunately he was part of when it completely changed. He will get his chances, he will get his time."

Why did Ethan Wheatley move to Walsall

Wheatley became the club’s 250th academy graduate last season when he came off the bench in a 4-2 victory over Sheffield United. He has since made three more senior appearances for United.

He was a regular goal-threat for United’s youth sides with 10 goals in 22 outings for the Under-21s and 14 goals in 28 matches for the Under-18s. In order to aid his development, he was sent on loan to Walsall. Revealing why he opted to join the club, Wheatley said in January. “It is my first loan so I am very excited to get going. The club is currently top of the league so I am coming into a winning environment and I am looking forward to that and hopefully we can kick on for the rest of the season and I can help the team to do good things.

“I had interest from other places but they didn’t have as many games left in the season and a big thing for me is earning game time and trying to play as much as possible in the men's game and hopefully I can do that and stamp my mark and impress.”

Manchester World understands United acknowledge it has been a poor loan move for Wheatley, though they hope he will benefit from the eye-opening experience and what it takes to be a professional footballer. The 19-year-old could feature in the post-season tour of Asia before another loan exit in the summer.

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