But with the clubs being in different leagues for a number of years now, that once-rivalry has lost some of its edge.
That was shown during the 2022/23 season, as the Trotters turned to the Red Devils in a bid to bolster their promotion hopes.
Ian Evatt’s Bolton looked to United as they were keen to sign attacker Shola Shoretire, a player who has come through the ranks at Old Trafford.
The 20-year-old had never spent time away from Man United since joining the club, but that changed when Bolton agreed to a loan deal until the end of the season.
Bolton Wanderers signed Shola Shoretire in January 2023
Bolton Wanderers was well-positioned to compete for a spot in the League One play-offs going into the January 2023 transfer window.
However, the Trotters still faced competition from other teams hoping to finish in the top six, so manager Ian Evatt was eager to strengthen his team for the second half of the campaign.
During that time, Bolton added a number of new players, including Shola Shoretire, Randell Williams, Cameron Jerome, and Victor Adeboyejo.
That month, the team signed three players on loan, including 18-year-old Shoretire, who raised hopes that he may have a significant impact on the squad.
As previously stated, this was both Shoretire’s first loan move and his first stint away from Old Trafford since signing.
Thus, a great deal of adaption was required, and even though he performed rather well, the agreement most likely didn’t proceed as expected.
The Bolton and Manchester United Shola Shoretire agreement didn’t work out
Sending Shola Shoretire to Bolton for the final six months of the 2022–2023 season was something Manchester United would have hoped would have further aided the player’s development and perhaps caused them some trouble upon his return.
It didn’t quite work out that way, either, as despite Shoretire’s significant contributions to the Trotters, neither United nor they thought highly enough of him to consider signing him permanently.
In nine Premier League 2 appearances throughout the first half of that season, Shoretire scored five goals while playing for Man United’s under-23 team. The midfield player entered Bolton as a man in form with multiple games under his belt, even if he also participated for the team in the EFL Trophy.
But following the 2-0 loss to Ipswich Town, he was benched, and he only played in five of the final eight games of the season.
Shoretire made 16 appearances for Bolton overall, all of which were in League One, and 12 of those were as the team’s starters.
The 20-year-old played 54 minutes a game on average throughout that period, scoring just one goal while wearing a Bolton shirt. According to Sofascore.com, the attacker was averaging 0.9 shots per game, but only 0.3 of those were on goal, so that would have disappointed him.
As the number 10 for Bolton, Shoretire was positioned directly behind the two strikers. In this role, he should be creating chances, and in fact, he did, as he generated three excellent opportunities without recording an assist.
The Manchester United player did gain 0.8 crucial passes from his 77% pass completion rate.
Though it definitely didn’t go as Bolton or Man United had hoped, Shoretire’s move to Bolton wasn’t a total bust.
He might have performed well enough, as hoped, to secure a permanent transfer to the team or at the at least, another loan move for the next year.
Rather, Shoretire is stranded in the Man United academy for the 2023–2024 season because no clubs are ready to loan him out at this time. Although the player would have benefitted greatly from the loan to Bolton, things most likely didn’t go according to plan for all parties.
