EXCLUSIVE: Shola Shoretire Likely To Leave Manchester United This Summer
Manchester United are likely to lose attacking midfielder Shola Shoretire this summer, with the club unable to agree a new deal to keep him at the club. Discussions have been ongoing since before January between the two parties, but there remains no agreement, and the 20-year-old is now likely to leave the club.
The United Academy prospect has played over 100 games across all levels, but with no recent opportunities to break into the first team, there is a real belief he could end up leaving when the summer transfer window opens. United wanted to send Shoretire out on loan if they agreed a new contract with him, but that wasn’t possible in January. There were rumours he would leave for a League One or League Two club in the January window on a permanent deal, but in the end he remained at United.
The forward is one of the youngest players to ever play for the club, but the emergence of Omari Forson into the first team has made him begin to look elsewhere when thinking about his future. Forson has made a number of appearances under Erik ten Hag this season.
Shoretire Likely To Leave United:
Teden Mengi and Tahith Chong are two examples of players who have left United in recent years and gone on to be successful with other teams in the Premier League. Mengi has made 23 appearances in the top flight this season, with Chong making 25. This is something Shoretire has been paying attention to, and it is one of the reasons he believes now is the right time to leave the club.
He made his debut in the Premier League against Newcastle United in February 2021 as a 17-year-old, becoming the second youngest player to ever feature for the first team in the competition. Only Angel Gomes, now playing for Lille, has featured for United at a younger age.
A week later, he became the youngest player to ever feature in Europe for the club, coming on for his debut against Real Sociedad in the Europa League under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He was also the youngest player to ever feature in the UEFA Youth League when he came on for United as a 14-year-old in 2018 against Valencia. His last appearance for the first team came against Crystal Palace on the final day of the 21/22 season under Ralf Rangnick.
Erik ten Hag was present for that game, and he was one of the reasons Shoretire did not go out on loan in the 2022 summer transfer window. The Dutch manager, along with the club, shelved plans to send him out on loan in the final days of the window, as they saw merit in keeping him around the reserves and the first team. There were various clubs interested in his signature, including championship teams and even clubs from abroad.
Shoretire struggled on loan last season at Bolton Wanderers, scoring just once in 16 appearances for the League One side, but despite that, Trotter’s manager Ian Evatt still tipped the versatile attacking midfielder for a bright future in the game. The manager also declared the reason he didn’t work at the club was due to the tactical direction they were going in, where they didn’t play with an out and out number ten, which is his best position.
Manchester United want to utilise their academy to make profit in the coming seasons, and the player is worried that signing a new deal and committing his future to the club could hamper his own development going forward. This is one of the main reasons a new contract has not been agreed upon and the reason why their is an increased likelihood of him leaving the club this summer. His brother Tunde Shoretire plays for the club as well, in the younger age groups of the academy setup.
The 20-year-old has not been in the squad for the last five games the U21s have played. He has featured 12 times prior to that, scoring nine times in all competitions. Seven of those goals have come in the Premier League 2, including an additional four assists on top of that record.
In 71 total games at the U21 level, Shoretire has scored a total of 32 goals with 20 assists. 52 goal contributions in 71 games highlight his quality, and there are a number of clubs across the continent interested in his signature ahead of the summer window opening.
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