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Ethan Wheatley has been loaned out to Lincoln City despite an underwhelming season in League One last year

Manchester United academy graduate Ethan Wheatley has secured a season-long loan with Championship new-boys Lincoln City.

The Imps are one of four sides yet to pick up a point through their opening two league games this season. After a strong performance in defeat late on against Middlesbrough, Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen's side fell to another loss against Portsmouth at Sincil Bank on Saturday.

After creating few chances from open play, especially in the second half against Pompey when they were chasing the game, Lincoln bolstered their frontline with the addition of 20-year-old academy graduate Wheatley, who no doubt has plenty of potential.

But after a rather underwhelming 2025/26 campaign, fans of both Northampton Town and Bradford City will be wondering how he's managed to secure a Championship move.

Ethan Wheatley endured a difficult start to 2025-26 season with Northampton Town

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This time last year, Wheatley was sent out on loan to Northampton in what was set to be his first full campaign away from Manchester United.

The then-teenager did spend the latter half of the 2024/25 term at Walsall, but struggled to make an impact as the Saddlers threw away the strong position they had at the top of League Two.

Indeed, Wheatley's move to the Cobblers was confirmed on the eve of the 2025/26 season, and he immediately started and played all 90 minutes in Kevin Nolan's side's 3-1 defeat at Wigan Athletic to open the campaign, showing his importance to the side.

Northampton were steady in the first half of last season, hovering around the lower mid-table, with the on-loan striker scoring three and assisting three, too. Wheatley started all but two games in 2025, before he was, quite surprisingly, recalled in January.

Wheatley hadn't pulled up many trees during his time at Sixfields, not enough to feel that he'd be warranting a relocation to a better side. But, giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps a move to a top League One outfit would bring the best out of him?

Ethan Wheatley flattered to deceive at Bradford City after mid-season switch

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With Northampton winning just one league game in the entirety of 2026, it looked like Manchester United made the right decision to recall Wheatley and send him to a side in the same division with eyes on promotion.

So, he arrived at Bradford on deadline day in the winter transfer window, as the Bantams looked to add some necessary firepower to try and break into the automatic promotion places in their first season back in League One.

The 20-year-old didn't have that effect, though. The striker position and the January transfer window were highlighted as two of the main reasons why Bradford's promotion bid fell in the semi-finals of the play-offs, and Wheatley's ineffectiveness falls under both categories.

The Manchester United youngster failed to score in a Bradford shirt, starting six of his 12 league appearances. His last came against former side Northampton on Good Friday. From then on, he hardly appeared in matchday squads and wasn't named in the 18 for either leg of the play-off semi-final against Bolton Wanderers.

Ethan Wheatley will have a lot of doubters from Bradford City to prove wrong as he embarks on the Championship

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For Wheatley to have made the step-up to the Championship without Bradford is something that Bantams fans are struggling to comprehend, given his stint at Valley Parade last season.

Supporters of the West Yorkshire side made sure to let Lincoln fans online know how they feel about the 20-year-old following his move to Sincil Bank, with comments such as "Stoppable on his day," "Strikes confidence into defenders" and "Believable player" being seen from Bradford fans on the X post announcing the striker's arrival.

While Wheatley got into good positions to score in League One last season, ranking in the top 14% of strikers in the number of touches he made in the opposition's box, per Fotmob, a striker is judged on how effective his goal output is.

The 20-year-old only scored three times in 34 third-tier outings, underperforming his expected goals by two, and was also pretty weak in his duels, which doesn't bode well for a striker now in a Lincoln side who prioritise balls in the air and need their strikers to not waste chances.

Ethan Wheatley needs to have an improved season for Lincoln City this season

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Wheatley has a great scoring record at youth level. With 13 goals in 24 under-18 Premier League appearances and 10 in 18 PL2 games, there's no doubt that the 20-year-old knows where the goal is when given the chance.

Last season was a dud year, but his potential and raw ability have meant that he's still highly regarded at top-end League One/bottom-end Championship level. If he continues to struggle in the senior game, though, it won't be long until that feeling drops.

This isn't a do-or-die season for the 20-year-old; no player that young should have that pressure, but it could be quite telling as to what his future will look like should he have a poor season at Championship level.

On the flip side, a campaign filled with promise and around eight to 10 goals should suggest that Wheatley could make it to the top of the second tier, and eventually Premier League level, in the future.