Manchester United make transfer decisions on two players

Manchester United make transfer decisions on two players

Ethan Wheatley and Radek Vitek have come through Man United's academy and are expected to leave on loan this summer.

Wheatley played for England at the U19 Euros. (Image: 2025 UEFA)

Manchester United are expected to send Ethan Wheatley and Radek Vitek out on loan this summer.

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Wheatley, 19, and Vitek, 21, have outgrown academy football and weren't named in the USA tour squad.

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The two players need to be playing regular football for the next stage of their development. Wheatley signed for Walsall on loan last season, but the young striker made just four appearances for the League Two club and ended a frustrating campaign by playing for United's Under-21s again.

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Academy staff have high hopes for Wheatley and he was handed a new three-year contract in March, with the option of an additional year.

Wheatley featured for England at the Under-19 European Championship this summer, scoring twice in two starts. The youngster reported to Carrington late after an extended break and was not named in the travelling squad to face Leeds in the opening pre-season friendly last weekend.

United will be conscious of arranging the right loan for Wheatley after his experience with Walsall, which the academy graduate admitted was "frustrating" in an interview with PA Sport.

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"I’m just more concentrated on this tournament," he said. "But yeah, since Ruben Amorim came in, I was away with international camp and, obviously, went on loan in January, so I’ve not really been around it too much.

"But I want to be a Man United player in the future. If that doesn’t happen, then it obviously wasn’t meant to be. We’ll just see what happens in the future."

Wheatley was on target for England U19s. (Image: 2025 The FA)

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Wheatley added: "My second half of the season has been frustrating. Not being able to show what I’m about, really. But I think this tournament is the perfect way to do it. I think there’ll be a lot of eyes on it and, obviously, representing your country in a Euros, there’s not much better than that.

"It’ll be good to hopefully impress and, just for myself and for the team, play my part and do well. The club have been good with me. They’ve let me come back and play a few Under-21s games, just to keep my legs going, so it’s been good to be back at United, developing and getting game-time.

"Even if my first [loan move] didn’t go well - and it didn’t - I had it in the back of my head. And I was telling staff around the club, it’s not going to define me as a player.

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"It’s not going to judge where I end up in the future. I think it’s just like a little blip in my early career and, hopefully, I can just bounce back from it going into next season."

Despite limited appearances for Walsall, Wheatley was impressive when he played for the U21s at the end of the campaign, scoring three goals in the Premier League 2 play-offs.

Wheatley made United history in April 2024 by becoming the 250th academy graduate to make his debut for the club, coming on from the bench against Sheffield United at Old Trafford.

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Vitek has not made his United debut, but his season-long loan with FC Blau-Weiß Linz was considered a success due to the number of starts he made in a competitive environment.

The goalkeeper started almost every league game for the Austrian side. Vitek is set to leave on loan again and his United contract expires in the summer of 2027.

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