Man Utd Confirm Shirt Numbers for Alex Telles & Facundo Pellistri

Manchester United have confirmed that new left-back Alex Telles has been assigned the number 27 shirt following his deadline day transfer from Porto this week.

Fellow deadline arrival Facundo Pellistri, who completed an £8m switch from Uruguayan giants Penarol and is viewed as a first-team signing despite his young age, will wear 28.

Telles has been brought in to provide stiff competition at left-back. Existing starter Luke Shaw has had a poor fitness record over the years and the position had been identified by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaching staff as an area that needed strengthening.

Telles established a fine reputation during four years at Porto, for whom he managed 81 combined goals and assists, and his contract situation gave United an opportunity to complete a deal worth an estimated £15.4m after add-ons.

The number 27 shirt has only been worn by a handful of United players, the most recent of which was Marouane Fellaini, who held it for four of his six years at Old Trafford.

Mikael Silvestre won five Premier League titles wearing 27 during an often underrated United career, while other former 27s include Federico Macheda, Terry Cooke and even a young Gary Neville, who wore it between 1993 and 1995.

Pellistri, despite being a long-term investment, will go straight into the first-team squad. He previously played under former United cult hero Diego Forlan at Penarol.

Forlan, who also gave United a positive review about ex-international teammate Edinson Cavani ahead of his switch to Old Trafford, commented in April that Pellistri has ‘huge potential’. Last December, Argentine legend Juan Roman Riquelme described him as a ‘rascal with the ball’.

He inherits the number 28 shirt worn by Angel Gomes prior to his summer departure. It is a jersey that has passed through several hands over the years, including a number of high profile stars early in their career, including David Beckham, Phil Neville and Gerard Pique.

Cavani was confirmed as United’s new number seven earlier this week, following in the footsteps of George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo, while hoping to do it more justice than Michael Owen, Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay and Alexis Sanchez.

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!