Shola Shoretire remains Manchester United’s youngest player to ever feature in a European game and will now return with PAOK for a Europa League clash at his old home
Shola Shoretire remains Manchester United’s youngest player to ever feature in a European game and will now return with PAOK for a Europa League clash at his old home Shola Shoretire remains Manchester United’s youngest player to ever feature in a European game and will now return with PAOK for a Europa League clash at his old home
Shola Shoretire will return to Manchester United on a European night – still holding a club record.
The former Red Devils academy graduate is now on the books of PAOK, who will be looking to spring a surprise when they head to England in the Europa League. Shoretire remains the youngest United player to even feature in Europe.
Back in February 2021, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the helm, he played in the Europa League against Real Sociedad aged just 17 years and 23 days old – which allowed him to break the record previously held by Norman Whiteside. It wasn’t the start of a marvellous journey, though, and Shoretire has since had to move on.
He has since moved to Greece, where he headed in the summer after his contract in Manchester expired. And while the forward didn’t expect to be back so soon, the European League has presented him with a chance to return home – one he’s very grateful for.
Shoretire said on his history-making outing: “It’s an achievement I’m very thankful for. I put in a lot of hard work and I was very thankful to be blessed with that opportunity. It’s an amazing feeling to be back. When we found out we were playing against them, it was a big surprise, but very nice to be back.”
Now into his 20s, Shoretire tried to bide his time in Manchester but didn’t get the breakthrough he was hoping for. He went out on loan to Bolton but that didn’t aid his chances and he felt the summer was the right time for him to depart permanently.
He added: “Of course it was difficult to leave, but I felt it was the right moment for my career. PAOK seemed like a very good club to go to, and I’m very happy with how it’s gone so far. We’re here to win tomorrow. That’s why we’re here, and we believe we can do this.”
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United haven’t won any of their three Europa League outings so far this season, but a strong result for the Greek side would certainly be a surprise. Shoretire has already stated that any goal would not be followed by a celebration on Thursday night.
“I’ve been asked this question by my friends and some of the team-mates,” he said. “But my answer is no because I still respect United for everything they’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be in this position without them.”
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