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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Josh Challies

Manchester United shirt numbers available for summer signings

Manchester United's season so far has been a successful one and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will continue pushing to achieve their goals beyond the end of the campaign in May.

A top-four finish in the Premier League and Europa League glory are on the agenda for United, who sit eight points clear of fifth-placed West Ham and have a quarter-final tie with Girona on the horizon in their continental campaign.

At the end of the season, Solskjaer is set to bolster his squad with new additions in the transfer market, during a window which could also see some significant departures.

With a squad that is largely stocked, the shirt numbers available to new recruits are fairly limited - especially with 1-11 occupied. Here, we've taken a look at a selection of numbers that will be available.

12

Left vacant following Chris Smalling's move to Roma, the number 12 shirt is an intriguing one for United as, while it's largely been used by squad players rather than first-team regulars, there are some notable names in it's history.

Paul Ince, Ryan Giggs, Steve Bruce and Gary Neville all had one season at United with the number on their backs, while Paul Scholes adorned the number for two years.

Phil Neville is the most notable player in recent history to wear the number for a considerable period of time, taking it from the 1996/97 season until the end of the 2001/02 campaign.

14

Jesse Lingard's loan to West Ham in January has left the number 14 up for grabs and, while he could return this summer to retake the jersey, he will have one-year remaining on his contract at United and the club will likely offload his services.

Again, it's a number that has some history with notable names and that includes Javier Hernandez's long stint from 2010-2016.

Other previous occupiers of the number include Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Mark Hughes.

15

Andreas Pereira's loan to Lazio has left the number 15 shirt available and, like Lingard, a permanent departure could be on the cards at the end of the season to leave this number vacant.

Previously worn by Daley Blind and Adnan Januzaj, the most notable occupant in recent history was Nemanja Vidic as the Serbian wore the number from his arrival in 2006 right up until his departure to join Inter Milan in 2014.

David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt are among those to have previously worn the number prior to Vidic's long stint.

20

Diogo Dalot joined AC Milan on loan last year and, like others mentioned, a permanent departure is on the cards for the Italian full-back at the end of the season, which would leave the number 20 shirt vacant for longer.

Only eight players in United's history have worn this number but it does hold some weight, having been occupied by Robin van Persie and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during their successful spells at Old Trafford.

Sergio Romero, Fabio Da Silva, Gary Neville, Dion Dublin and Terry Cooke are the only other players to have worn the number.

24

Timothy Fosu-Mensah's exit to Bayer Leverkusen has left the number 24 vacant and, while there have been few players in United's history to wear the number, it again holds weight due to previous occupiers.

Darren Fletcher wore the number throughout his lengthy and successful spell at Old Trafford, running from the 2003/04 season until his departure from the club in 2015.

Wes Brown also wore the number for five seasons, while Paul Scholes occupied the number for three campaigns and David Beckham had it for a single season.

25

After Odion Ighalo's brief stint at United, the number 25 shirt at the club is available once again and holds some history from one recent occupant in particular.

Antonio Valencia occupied the number for his lengthy stint at Old Trafford, where he spent a decade, with no other players who have worn the number in United's history coming anywhere near his level of success.

Since 1990, the number has adorned the back of the shirts of Gary Walsh, Kevin Pilkington, Jordi Cruyff, Quinton Fortune, David Jones, Danny Simpson and Nick Powell.

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