Bribed with chocolate pancakes and back to school on Thursday - the story of Man United's history-maker

Ethan Wheatley was pretty keen to go to school on Thursday morning, but then wouldn't you be if you had made your debut for Manchester United 12 hours earlier?

It wasn't just any old debut for the 18-year-old, either. The Stockport-born striker's name will now forever be linked with the history of English football's greatest hotbed of young talent. When Wheatley stepped onto the Old Trafford pitch in the closing stages of the 4-2 win against Sheffield United, he became the 250th academy player to represent the United first team.

That astonishing record is a source of immense pride inside the corridors of Carrington and Wheatley's debut was a moment to celebrate. It also capped an unforgettable week for the teenager, who was an unused substitute for Erik ten Hag's first team at Wembley on Sunday, scored two goals in the Premier League Cup success for the Under-18s against Manchester City on Tuesday and then came on for Rasmus Hojlund on Wednesday. That's a lot to tell his friends about.

ALSO READ: Ten Hag lists two attributes key to United academy success after 250th debut

ALSO READ: The United metric that could save Ten Hag and rivals City, Arsenal and Liverpool

So it was that Wheatley returned to Ashton on Mersey School on Thursday morning to continue his BTEC in marketing, with United's academy having a link up with the education establishment.

"Ethan has continued with his education. He is in the upper sixth, he has to stay at the school until the end of the year and he will have been there this morning [Thursday]," said the club's academy director Nick Cox.

"Of late he has been in and around the first-team squad, he has been to the FA Cup semi-finals, and he has actually been pestering us to come into school and get the education finished.

"There are two reasons – one because he wants to get the education finished and competitive athletes are competitive athletes no matter what they turn their hand to. He has never told me this but I would suspect another motive is that it would feel pretty good walking into school having just made your Manchester United debut."

Wheatley was one of four academy graduates yet to play for the first team on the bench at Wembley on Sunday and Old Trafford on Wednesday, along with defenders Habeeb Ogunneye, Harry Amass and Louis Jackson.

It is the striker who will now get his name inked onto the walkway between the academy building and the first team set-up at Carrington, while his photograph will also take pride of place in a new lounge recently opened at the training ground, called the Graduate Lounge.

"In that lounge there is recognition of all 249, yet to be the 250th, with the photograph of the most recent debut framed and on the wall in the centre of all that came before," said Cox.

"So at some point there will be a frame on the wall and Ethan will be there to see that put up and we will bring his family in and he will mark the occasion that way.

"When they debut, we are quite subtle with it with the player at the time because Ethan has to come to work today to try and train hard to get into the team again. He’s got to start a game, then he’s got to get to five games, and if he gets to 50 games he might be able to call it his job."

Cox's phone was going off all day on Thursday after United's historic achievement. He was touched by messages from other academy directors around the country but particularly enjoyed talking to the coaches who had been a part of Wheatley's journey.

He bumped into Neil Gittins, the club's head of player development for nine to 12-year-olds, and reminisced about a memorable trip abroad with the young forward.

"[We took] Ethan on tour to the Czech Republic when he was about 11 and we were recalling how nervous he was and how tearful he was about being away from home and a little bit overawed by the whole experience," he said.

"We remember having to encourage and coax him to play games. We were basically bribing him with chocolate pancakes and that feels like yesterday. So it’s nice to have a conversation with Neil because last night would have meant as much to him as to anybody."

Wheatley's memorable week included his cup final heroics at Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday, when he scored twice in a 45-minute cameo that was pre-agreed with Erik ten Hag, with all four academy players on the bench this week playing a part in the Under-18 final.

"He was desperate to play on Tuesday night. The manager worked with us, he understood the importance of Ethan playing for his own journey and his own sense of achievement on Tuesday," said Cox.

"But equally our duty here is always to try and support the first team, so there was that collaboration to ensure he was available for selection on Wednesday.

"He was desperate to play, the manager was really keen for him to have that experience as well as supporting the first team. I would imagine, having had a taste of Tuesday night, scoring two great goals, playing in front of a little bit of a crowd, lifting a trophy, he would have approached Wednesday with a real spring in his step.

"The goals he scored on Tuesday were magnificent, so he would have arrived on Wednesday with a real inner belief that if he was given a chance he would be able to contribute."