Bradford City star Antoni Sarcevic believes that on-loan Manchester United youngster Ethan Wheatley will get his first goal as his drought continues.
The absence of forwards Will Swan and Kayden Jackson have afforded the 20-year-old multiple chances to start for the Bantams in recent weeks, doing so against Leyton Orient, playing just over 70 minutes at Valley Parade on Saturday.
Sarcevic Praises Future Star
However, it has been far from plain sailing for Wheatley, who is yet to score for Graham Alexander’s side across any of his seven appearances in claret and amber.
That lack of form has not stopped his teammates and manager from backing the former Northampton Town man to succeed in the future, with his City boss previously doing so a few weeks ago.
Speaking after his brace which secured Bradford all three points in their push for a playoff place, Antoni Sarcevic praised Wheatley’s work ethic alongside fellow youngster Bobby Pointon to the Yorkshire Post.
“Bobby’s a homegrown hero here and Ethan’s a young lad who is finding his feet in the EFL.
“I still think Ethan is doing brilliantly for us. I know he’ll pride himself on goals but I think what he give us to us is really good. The goals will come if he keeps going and Bobby’s just a pleaure to play with.
“It’s a big three points for us and keeps us in the play-offs. That’s our aim, that’s what we want to do.
“We still want to collect as many points as we can. If other teams around us win, that’s on them. We focus on ourselves.”
Wheatley Coming Good – But Is It Too Late?
The biggest sign of a striker’s success has been the number of goals and so far, Ethan Wheatley has failed to deliver on his baseline expectations.
However, watching him play has seen shoots of progress, particularly in his off-the-ball work and physicality, which has certainly created space for Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon to thrive in.
Apart from Will Swan’s early season purple patch, none of Bradford City’s strikers have particularly delivered on a regular basis, which has seen the two attacking midfielders sitting behind them or, on occasion, their wide players like Stephen Humphrys become their main goalscoring threat.
Swan is closing in on a return which may cost Wheatley some crucial game time, meaning he will likely need to find the net sooner rather than later, or could see the former Mansfield Town man retake his place up front for the remainder of the campaign.