Teenage Star Shola Shoretire Makes Manchester United History

The teenage forward Shola Shoretire was handed his second senior appearance for Manchester United against Real Sociedad this week. Shola Shoretire secured a place in Manchester United’s history books after making his Europa League debut on Thursday night.

Shoretire came on in the second half of United’s clash with Real Sociedad at Old Trafford, which ended in a 0-0 draw as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side progressed to the last 16 of the competition 4-0 on aggregate.

The teenager is now the youngest player to feature in Europe in the club’s entire history, and looks well placed to follow in the footsteps of fellow academy graduates Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford in the coming years.

When Shoretire came on for Greenwood at the age of just 17 years and 23 days, he beat the previous mark set by former United forward Norman Whiteside back in 1982.

Whiteside was 17 years and 131 days when he lined up in Europe for the first time, and he went on to feature in over 200 games across all competitions for the Manchester outfit.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game on Thursday, Solskjaer said: “Shola has got some skills, he’s going to make a very good player here.

“It’s a platform tonight, just 15 minutes but it’s something to remember for him at Old Trafford. Maybe he would’ve enjoyed it more with fans because they give you so much energy. “But I’m sure all the fans will see him soon.”

17 – Shola Shoretire (17y 23d) is the youngest ever player to make an appearance for Manchester United in European competition. Fledgling. #UEL pic.twitter.com/0MLNaWfhPJ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 25, 2021

Senior Debut of Shola Shoretire

In his post-game press conference, Solskjaer added: “He’s a young kid that we believe in. [He has] a great attitude, you can see the shape of him physically, he’s an athlete, technically very very good, makes good decisions.

“[We will] gradually feed him into this team and he’s got his feet firmly on the ground, a very likeable boy who hopefully we will see loads of in the future.”

After Shoretire made his senior debut at the weekend against Newcastle, Rashford said: “Shola has been training with us now for a little while, and has done really well, [this] was the next step up.

“In the last transfer window we let a few players go out on loan, which made the path for him shorter and I’m sure he’ll remember his five or six minutes on the pitch tonight.”

Shoretire will be back in contention for a place in Solskjaer’s squad when United take in a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday.

The 13-time Premier League winners are due to face Crystal Palace three days later, with Solskjaer likely to continue shuffling his pack amid a congested fixture list.

Source: Goal.com