Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed debut to history-making Man Utd youngster who was later 'axed' from dressing room

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed a historic debut to a young Manchester United starlet back in February 2021 but just over a year on and he found himself out of favour.

United took on Real Sociedad in the Europa League round of 32 and claimed a 4-0 victory in the first leg, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a brace and Marcus Rashford and Daniel James also on target.

The second leg was a rather forgettable 0-0 draw which was more than enough for United to progress to the next round of the competition.

But a key talking point was a first glimpse of European football for Shola Shoretire, who replaced Mason Greenwood in the 76th minute.

Shoretire had his first-team debut days before against Newcastle and his European bow saw him become United's youngest ever player in European competition.

At the age of 17 years and 23 days, he eclipsed the previous record set by Norman Whiteside 38 years prior. And with Amad Diallo also impressing from the bench, Solskjaer tipped both for bright futures at United.

"Shola is going to be a good player for us and sometimes you need to test them against good players," Solskjaer said in his press conference.

"We knew Real Sociedad are a good team with good individuals and they press.

"We felt today Amad (Diallo) - he had to come on, of course, Dan (James) had to come off - and Shola, the two of them will need these little introductions to this type of level.

But while Amad has gone on to be a key player for United and a shining light for them this season, Shoretire only managed a further four appearances.

And it was reported that when Erik ten Hag took the reins at Old Trafford, Shoretire was one of five players initially expelled from the first-team squad.

Shola Shoretire played just five times for United. Image: Getty

It was claimed that along with Phil Jones, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe and Teden Mengi, Shoretire was forced to train, eat, and change with the academy squad.

He was later sent out on loan to Bolton in January 2023 and though he returned and was part of first-team training, in the summer of 2024 he left United on a free transfer after his contract expired.

Shoretire penned a deal with Greek Super League side PAOK, where he's played 23 times and scored four goals.

Coincidentally, he turned out as a substitute for PAOK when they travelled to play United in this season's Europa League, with Amad scoring twice in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.