The Shirt Number Bruno Fernandes Could Wear for Manchester United

Manchester United’s imminent capture of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting CP in a deal worth a minimum of €55m is the biggest move of the January transfer market.

United fans will expect Fernandes to give a lacklustre midfield an enormous boost this season and beyond, with the 25-year-old lauded for the number of goals and assists he has managed in Portugal in the last 18 months alone – all 79 of them to be precise.

One of the first things supporters will want to know when the deal is officially complete – thought only to be a matter of time – is what shirt number the name ‘B. FERNANDES’ will be above.

At Sporting CP, he wore the number eight shirt. That jersey is currently taken at Old Trafford, having been worn by Juan Mata since he arrived from Chelsea in January 2014.

Some fans may urge him to take on the number seven shirt, not unlike a certain other United signing from Sporting by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo nearly 17 long years ago.

That famous shirt hasn’t been worn this season but it does still technically belong to Alexis Sanchez, who is now expected to return to Manchester next season when his loan at Inter finishes and, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said, “…prove youse all wrong.”

Fernandes wore 10 at former club Sampdoria, occupied at United by Marcus Rashford.

At international level for Portugal, Fernandes’ usual jersey is 16 and that may be a genuine option for him at Old Trafford. The shirt is currently worn by Marcos Rojo, but the defender has been strongly tipped to imminently re-join boyhood team Estudiantes on loan.

That could, therefore, open up United’s number 16 for Fernandes to wear this season.

Besides Rojo, it has only ever been previously worn by club legends Michael Carrick and Roy Keane since fixed squad numbers were first introduced in 1993.

If 16 is still kept for Rojo’s even while he’s out on loan, Fernandes has also worn 11 for Portugal in the relatively recent past – and it is free at United since Anthony Martial reverted to nine.

Other numbers that are currently available are 18, 19, 25, 27, 30 and 31.

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