Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick should utilise his connections to Manchester United to sign this player for Boro.
Middlesbrough will have promotion aspirations heading into the 2024/25 Championship season.
The club have been flirting with a return to the Premier League for the last few years since Michael Carrick took charge.
Boro finished fourth during Carrick’s first season in the dugout but lost to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.
The Teessiders then ended 2023/24 sat eighth in the league, with a slow start and injury issues meaning they finished just four points off the top six.
With the playoffs expected to be the aim at the very least for Middlesbrough this term, the club have been working hard to strengthen in the market.
Three new players in Aidan Morris, Delano Burgzorg, and Luke Ayling have already arrived through the door, with a new striker remaining a priority for Middlesbrough this summer.
Michael Carrick should sign Ethan Wheatley from Manchester United
Following the loss of 29-goal striker Chuba Akpom to Ajax, Middlesbrough brought in Emmanuel Latte Lath from Atalanta BC.
The Ivory Coast international had a slow start to life in England but ended the previous season with 16 goals in 30 Championship games.
Behind Latte Lath, Boro have relied on 21-year-old Josh Coburn as a back-up number nine. He scored five in 21 for the club in 2023/24.
Despite both players being decent options, however, Middlesbrough should look to bring in Ethan Wheatley from Manchester United.
There is, of course, no hope of a permanent transfer being pulled off, but Carrick should be able to use his United connections to convince the Red Devils into a loan switch.
Carrick spent 12 years at the club as a player before moving into an assistant manager role in 2018.
What Ethan Wheatley would bring to Middlesbrough
The 18-year-old broke into the Man Utd first-team at the end of last season, making three appearances for a total of 13 minutes.
But with expectations high for Erik ten Hag after signing a new deal, it is unlikely the teenager will be afforded any meaningful minutes in 2024/25.
However, with it clear Wheatley is ready to start playing senior football, a loan to Middlesbrough could suit all parties.
Boro need a striker who will not have to start every single game and Wheatley can garner some much-needed experience in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
Wheatley, who was named the club’s Young Player of the Year for 2023/24, scored 14 goals in all competitions for United’s youth teams last season and won the U18 Premier League Cup with the Red Devils.
His rapid rise also earned him a call-up for England’s U18 team last month, where he scored three in his first two games.
Granted, signing a player with just three senior caps is a slight risk, but as Latte Lath will be Boro’s primary striker no matter who the club brings in this summer, it is worth taking a gamble on such a promising player.