Who is Shola Shoretire? Man Utd debut star tipped as the ‘new Sancho’

James Shearman

• Updated: 19 May 2021 14:09 BST
• 2 min read

Shola Shoretire grabbed the headlines on Sunday evening during Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

The 17-year-old came off the bench in the 89th minute at Old Trafford, replacing Marcus Rashford, for his senior debut for Man United.

It was only earlier this month that Man Utd signed academy prospect Shoretire to his first professional contract at Old Trafford.

Shoretire had been performing well for United’s Under-23s, which had sparked interest from Europe’s top clubs.

The Nigerian-born playmaker is thought of as one of the brightest young midfielders around, with the versatility to play on either side of or behind the striker.

As such, the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris-Saint Germain were among the teams trying to take the youngster away from Manchester.

But the 17-year-old settled all speculation by committing his future to the Red Devils, with advice from Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Michael Owen said to have helped him with his decision.

“It’s a dream come true to sign my first professional contract for my boyhood club! Such a proud day for me and my family,” Shoretire said on Instagram.

“Thank you to everyone at the club and to my family who have helped me get to this moment. Hard work continues!”

How good is Shola Shoretire?

In 2018, Shola Shoretire became the youngest ever Manchester United player to feature in the UEFA Youth League, at 14 years of age.

Now, more recently, the attacking midfielder starred in a 6-4 victory over Blackburn Rovers U23s, scoring a hat-trick with all three goals assisted by £19 million signing Amad Diallo.

Having stated that his inspiration is Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, the midfielder’s entertaining style of play comes as no surprise.

Shoretire has a remarkable dribbling ability, combined with a low centre of gravity, which makes him challenging to deal with for any defender.

Comparisons to ex-Bolton player Jay-Jay Okocha have been made as a result of the 17-year-old’s ability to use both feet.

Shoretire recently began training with the first-team squad with a view to making his senior debut, which he did against Newcastle.

Man Utd won the game 3-1 thanks to goals from Rashford, Daniel James and a Bruno Fernandes penalty.

There has been a void on the right wing for United all season as Greenwood, who many believe will become an out-and-out striker, has failed to recapture his impressive form of the last campaign.

According to The Sun, United believe that Shoretire can become the new Jadon Sancho and could save them around €100m that could instead be spent on bolstering the defence.

It seems as though high expectations have been put on the England U17 international as the Red Devils will be hoping to address a situation that should’ve been resolved last summer with the emergence of an enterprising young talent.