Shola Shoretire was greeted with applause by Manchester United fans as he made his return to Old Trafford.
The 20-year-old, who left the Premier League club only in the summer after his contract expired, made a quick comeback as his new team, PAOK, came for a Europa League match. Shoretire started on the bench but was brought on during the second half.
As he prepared to join the game, he was warmly welcomed by United fans who were eager to acknowledge their academy graduate. It was during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure that Shoretire first got involved when he was still an unknown youngster.
Shoretire would later become the youngest ever player in European competition for the club – a record he still holds. He was loaned out to Bolton in recent years to increase his chances of playing in the first team, but never really got a chance under Erik ten Hag.
He was among several players pushed out from United’s changing room due to an influx of new signings when the Dutch manager arrived in 2022. With limited space left in the first team facilities, it was reported that a group was moved to the under-23 changing area, reports the Mirror.
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Phil Jones, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, Teden Mengi and Shoretire were reportedly the players demoted, with the now PAOK star seemingly not part of Ten Hag’s plans.
Grilled about his choice to swap Manchester for Greece, the forward explained: “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.”
Even with United’s shaky start in Europe, when PAOK arrived at Old Trafford they were still the clear underdogs and sure enough, United clinched a 2-0 win thanks to Amad’s double.
Despite securing the win, it was hardly a standout show, marking one of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s last matches as interim manager before he steps aside for Ruben Amorim after this weekend’s clash with Leicester.
Van Nistelrooy wasn’t shy about the team’s performance, admitting: “We didn’t get going. I think our possession wasn’t good enough, we made many tactical mistakes, our shape wasn’t good, it was, at times, not low enough and, every time, in that shape that we wanted to play. Second half, we were a lot better.”