Shola Shoretire
Shola Maxwell Shoretire ( ; born 2 February 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United. Shoretire was a part of Manchester United's youth team from a young age, and quickly become promoted to the club's first team. He signed his first professional contract in February 2021, at the age of 17. Club career. Manchester United. Early career. As a child, Shoretire played with Whitley Bay Boys Club, Newcastle City Juniors, Wallsend Boys Club, Hebburn Town and Cramlington Juniors. He was also briefly part of Manchester City's youth  setup but left to join rivals Manchester United at the age of nine. He quickly rose through the youth ranks, frequently playing a year up. In December 2018, he became the youngest ever player to appear in the UEFA Youth League at the age of 14 years and 314 days. In 2020, after impressing with the under-18s, Neil Wood, coach of the under-23s, handed him his under-23s debut when he was just 16. He scored a hat-trick in a 6–4 win for the under-23s against Blackburn Rovers in February 2021. Shoretire signed his first professional contract with Manchester United  on 8 February 2021, a week after turning 17. On 21 February 2021, he made his first-team debut for United as an 88th-minute substitute for Marcus Rashford in a 3–1 home league win over Newcastle United. Four days later, he became United's youngest player to make an appearance in a European competition, coming on as a substitute for Mason Greenwood in a 0–0 home draw against Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League at the age of 17 years and 23 days, beating the record set by Norman Whiteside 38 years earlier by 108 days. For his  performances with the youth teams, Shoretire was named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year for 2020–21. International career. As Shoretire was born in England to a Nigerian father and English mother, he was eligible to represent both nations at international levels. In August 2019, Shoretire represented England under-16 against the Republic of Ireland. On 29 March 2021, Shoretire made his debut for England U18 national team during the 2–0 away victory over Wales U18's at the Leckwith Stadium in Cardiff. On 2 September 2021, Shoretire made his debut for the England U19s during a 2–0 victory over  Italy U19s at St. George's Park. Honours. Manchester United Individual