Shola Shoretire has admitted that it would have been nice to have fans present for his Manchester United debut but said it is still a moment that will live long in the memory.
The 17-year-old became United’s seventh-youngest player ever when he came off the bench for a brief cameo against Newcastle United at the weekend.
It was a moment to savour for the highly rated attacker and, speaking to club media, he admitted the only disappointment was the lack of fans at Old Trafford.
He said: “With the fans, it makes it 10 times better, but still, to come out at Old Trafford, looking around me at the size of the stadium and where I’d sit as a fan and finally playing on the pitch was a great moment.”
The nature of behind-closed-doors matches means that Shoretire’s friends and family were unable to attend the game.
Yet Shoretire, whose No. 74 shirt was the highest number ever to have been worn by a United men’s player in a competitive game, hoped as many people as possible were watching on TV.
“They’ll have been watching on TV, I’m sure,” he said. “Hopefully they’re proud and I can’t wait to see them. I’ve worked really hard to get here, I think they should be really proud. I checked my phone before for five minutes and it was going a bit crazy.
“It’s nice to see people showing support, my friends from school, family, cousins, everybody – it’s really nice.”
l love this club so much