For all of Manchester United's storied success in developing young talent and seeing them go on to become legends of the club, countless more have failed to do so. Regardless of how much promise they showed.
It's a natural part of the game. Be it through injuries, attitude, not realising potential or any other series of uncontrollable circumstances, more often than not a youngster in a professional academy does not go on to become a professional. That's true for every club across the planet. Even for those who get that far at United, there is no guarantee they will become a star at Old Trafford.
For every Paul Scholes, Marcus Rashford and David Beckham, there are plenty more James Weirs, Tyler Blacketts, Ravel Morrisons, Federico Machedas, James Wilsons and Tom Thorpes who slip through the cracks and, even if they go on to have respectable careers elsewhere, never quite live up to their early potential. Shola Shoretire could still end up on either list.
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Shoretire made his United debut almost two years ago in February 2021 when he had only just turned 17 to become the club's second-youngest player, edged out by Angel Gomes. He did claim one record, though, as he became the youngster player to represent United in Europe at 17 years and 23 days in a goalless draw with Real Sociedad, beating Norman Whiteside's long-standing record.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been making a habit of utilising the club's academy and had been impressed by the versatile forward. "It’s important that our kids know that when they’re good enough, they're old enough," the former manager said after his debut. "Shola has been training with us for a while, done really well and it was the next step for him. He is a boy we believe in."
Inevitably, such an early spotlight led to a dramatic increase in hype over Shoretire's potential but opportunities with the first team were few and far between afterwards. Over the next 18 months he would play just three more times, twice for Ralf Rangnick, but he struggled to make any impact. Last season, he didn't play in the FA Youth Cup success despite being eligible and appeared to struggle for form in the Under-21s.
Shoretire still managed a decent return of 15 goal contributions in 22 games but he wasn't particularly standing out as Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho surpassed him into first-team contention.
The Newcastle native could have left on loan in the summer, and didn't go on the pre-season tour ahead of a potential move, but Erik ten Hag blocked his exit as he wanted to oversee the development of a player he rated highly. Shoretire did not leave but did not feature in the first part of the season under Ten Hag.
Those lofty expectations which came from such an early debut and playing well above his age group for so long have made it easy to forget he is still only 18 and he may have been written off prematurely. Shoretire has now joined League One promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the season where he will finally get some valuable and consistent first-team experience.
He made his full debut on Tuesday night as the Trotters looked to bounce back against bottom-of-the-league Forest Green after suffering a deflating defeat on Saturday. Despite Bolton's decaying pitch having more sand on it than Blackpool's seafront, Shoretire looked comfortable in a side that aims to play nice football under Ian Evatt. Shoretire was deployed in the attacking midfield role of a 3-5-2 behind two strikes and was immediately pulling the strings.
He would drop quite deep for the ball, behind the holding midfielders, but then elegantly pirouette to evade his marker and advance into the space. Then on a few of occasions, he played sweet through-balls into the full-backs or strikers. Bolton usually have the elegant and experienced Kieran Lee in the role, so the fact he was replicating his job excellently certainly bodes well.
Wanderers took the lead after just five minutes and looked as though they were set to dominate the game, with Shoretire at the heart of their good play. But then near the half-an-hour mark, the game took on a different complexion. Bolton were reduced to 10 men in baffling circumstances as goal scorer Dion Charles was dismissed in a bizarre case of mistake identity. Replays revealed that it was actually his strike partner, Elias Kachunga, who had punched an opponent in the stomach and Charles was wrongly identified as the culprit and sent off.
With Bolton's backs against the wall, there were fewer opportunities for Shoretire to get on the ball and show his attacking talents but he impressively adapted. He displayed grit and determination in his game that he may not have shown before. Despite his slender frame and making his first start in senior football, he dug in deep and mucked in. Making challenges, closing down, and running tirelessly.
It was a massive win for Bolton as they fight to secure a playoff spot and with a severe shortage of attackers, Shoretire is bound to see plenty more action. "That's a full debut that he will remember," Evatt said after the game. "I've got to say the first 20, 25 minutes, some of the things he did was electric. The way he turned with the ball, some of his passes, some of his dribbling. You can see what he's going to bring to us. We haven't had a player like that yet and he's going to be a really, really good player for us.
"But what was even more pleasing for us was the way he bought into the out-of-possession stuff. He's from Manchester United and very rarely will they have to be low block, be patient and wait for pressing triggers but he did that. He bought into that superbly well and I'm proud of him."
It's early days, of course, but in 72 minutes of action, Shoretire showed an impressive duality to his game that suggests he may well make it on to the success list at United yet.
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