Manchester United have confirmed a handful of squad number changes of the new 2023/24 season, assigning new shirts to emerging talents that hints at potential first-team opportunities.
United have recently seen the number one and number four shirts become available for the first time in 12 years following the departures of David de Gea and Phil Jones respectively.
Mason Mount has already taken the number seven shirt after his £55m arrival from Chelsea, the first person to occupy it since Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford under a cloud in November.
Other jerseys could yet become available depending on the future of players like Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Anthony Martial. Number 15 is also in limbo since Marcel Sabitzer’s loan ended.
New shirt numbers are not solely the domain of new signings. This time last year, Bruno Fernandes traded 18 for eight and there is speculation that Raphael Varane could do similar now that the number four, the same shirt he wears for France, is free. Alejandro Garnacho is also tipped to swap his number 49 for something more befitting an important first-team player, but it won’t be seven.
Those changes could yet happen, with another month until the Premier League deadline will lock squad numbers in for the whole season. But, for the time being, United have announced that Kobbie Mainoo, Matej Kovar, Alvaro Fernandez, Dan Gore will all have new shirts.
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After Garnacho established himself in the first-team last season, Stockport-born Kobbie Mainoo is widely expected to be the next home-grown player to make that step. He was teammates with the Argentine for United’s FA Youth Cup win in 2021/22 and has made three senior appearances to date.
The 18-year-old wore 73 last season but will don 37 for the forthcoming campaign.
Number 38 became vacant when Axel Tuanzebe left last month, failing to live up to the enormous expectations laid out for him as a teenager. That has now gone to goalkeeper Matej Kovar upon his return from a successful loan spell with Sparta Prague in his native Czech Republic.
With David de Gea and Jack Butland gone, and Dean Henderson to follow, United are in need of another first-team goalkeeper in addition to the expected arrival of Andre Onana. Even before De Gea left, 90min reported that Kovar was being considered for a first-team role.
Spanish full-back Alvaro Fernandez, winner of the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year for 2021/22, is the new number 42. He previously occupied 74 and spent last season on with Preston, making 39 appearances for the Lancashire club in the Championship.
The final new number at this stage is Dan Gore, who takes 44, once famously belonging to Adnan Januzaj. He followed in Fernandez’s footsteps to claim the 2022/23 edition of the Denzil Haroun award and was another member of the FA Youth Cup winning team alongside Garnacho and Mainoo.
Man Utd squad numbers 2023/24
This article was originally published on 90min as Man Utd confirm four squad number changes.
