Ethan Wheatley delighted being named U18 Man Utd Player of the Year.

Ethan Wheatley is delighted being named U18 Manchester United Player of the Year.

The striker was granted the Jimmy Murphy Award this week.

Wheatley told manutd.con: "It's a great club with a massive history, especially in the Academy as well.

"It's just an honour to make my debut. And then that number 250 is just a little extra as well.

"Adam Lawrence, Colin Little, like all of the staff really, even the analysts: they've all helped me throughout the whole season.

"Last season it was a bit stop-start. I didn't really get to develop as much as I wanted. This season I've been able to stay on the pitch and work on using my body, all these little technical bits as well, and I was talking to the coaches before the game.

"I feel like everything just came into place these last few weeks, and I'm feeling a lot more confident with the way I'm playing."

Nick Cox, Director of Academy, said: "Ethan really deserves this award, having represented the club to the highest standard across six different competitions this season. He has excelled at everything that he has been asked to do, both on the pitch, scoring an impressive 14 goals, and off the pitch, within his personal development programme and strong educational achievements.

"Ethan has consistently improved throughout the season, dedicating himself to his training programme, building on each performance and getting stronger and stronger through hard work and perseverance. He has made a great deal of progress, which was recognised last month when Ethan made his first-team debut and became the 250th Academy graduate to play for Manchester United.

"Our Under-18s have had a fantastic season. Winning the national title after securing the Premier League North Division and the Premier League Cup is a brilliant achievement, so choosing just one player to win this award was really challenging. We've seen a fantastic amount of individual development across the entire group which is testament to the diligence of Adam Lawrence, Colin Little and the rest of the Professional Development Phase staff."