The latest batch of Manchester United prodigies to emerge from Carrington have shown plenty of promise, the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Hannibal Mejbri, and Kobie Manoo among others have all been tipped with bright futures.
19-year-old Shola Shoretire is yet another inclusion to this list, as the young forward has wowed fans and scouts alike with his performances at the youth level.
Shoretire left Manchester City’s youth setup in favour of United’s at the age of 9, following which, he rose through the ranks at a swift pace.
He made his UEFA Youth League debut at the young age of 14, and he even made his U-23 debut at the age of just 16.
He signed his first professional contract with United in February of 2021, and he then went on to make his senior team just a few weeks later.
Capable of playing as an offensive midfielder or wide forward, Shoretire has displayed plenty of vision during his youth appearances which pair well with his well-honed technical skills.
Despite his tender age, he has been credited with showing excellent maturity, alongside some quick decision-making in tight situations.
To give him some much-needed game time to harness his abilities, United announced a loan deal with League One side Bolton Wanderers during the January transfer window.
Supporters of both clubs were delighted with this announcement, although a slight hitch emerged after a video displaying the forward’s message was released.
Sporting the Trotters’ kit, Shoretire handled the camera to send a quick greeting to his new supporters, the video was later posted by the club’s official Twitter account.
The 6-second clip was brief and to the point, but the part fans seemed to take issue with was Shoretire’s pronunciation of his own surname.
Instead of properly enunciating ‘Shoretire’, the youngster just blazed past it and ended up saying ‘Shola Shota’.
In case you were wondering about the correct pronunciation, here’s a quick lesson from former United gaffer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer himself.
As per Ole, the name can be deduced down to Sho-ra-ti-re, which is certainly nowhere close to ‘Shota’.
This only reaffirmed what fans online were thinking in the place: Shoretire can’t pronounce his own surname.
As far as theories go, it’s pretty wild, but there really is no good reason to mispronounce your surname, especially while introducing yourself to a new set of people.
Hopefully, the youngster will do his name some justice and offer up the proper pronunciation in the near future.