Manchester United secured the signing of Sofyan Amrabat in the final hours of the summer transfer window, much to the relief of fans desperate to see more midfield reinforcement.
The Morocco international, who rose to global prominent at the end of last year thanks to his starring role in his country’s journey to fourth place at the 2022 World Cup, has joined on a season-long loan with option for a permanent transfer next summer.
United will pay an initial £8.6m for the privilege of having Amrabat in the squad for the duration of the 2023/24 campaign, before being able to trigger a £17.1m clause to buy him outright. The negotiations moved on in the final day of the window, with a £5m loan plus £20m obligation to buy the deal that was on the table at first. Ultimately, he wanted to make the switch to Old Trafford, refusing other interest all summer as a result, and Fiorentina didn’t want to stand in the way.
Dutch-born Amrabat will add an enforcer-like presence in a United midfield that already features Casemiro. Indeed, a soft underbelly in the centre of the pitch was a clear weakness in a number of games last season and at the start of this one, with Erik ten Hag’s team not able to accommodate two creative midfielders and only one holding midfielder against more progressive sides.
As things stand, United have not assigned Amrabat a shirt number at Old Trafford. Rasmus Hojlund, Sergio Reguilon, Jonny Evans and Altay Bayindir were all given squad numbers on Sunday morning, while the club also confirmed a change for Alejandro Garnacho from 49 to 17.
Amrabat, who will have to wait until after the September international break for his debut, won’t get his shirt until the paperwork surrounding his registration to play is fully complete.
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Sofyan Amrabat shirt number history
Amrabat has already won a variety of different shirt numbers throughout his career. When he first made the breakthrough at Utrecht, where he actually played under Erik ten Hag for two years, it was 44. Having earned a move to Feyenoord, it was then 21, before later taking 6 at Club Brugge.
Amrabat moved to Italy in 2019 when he signed with Hellas Verona on loan. That was the first time he took the number 34 shirt, joining a number of Dutch talents to wear it as a tribute to Abdelhak Nouri, the Ajax youngster who collapsed from a cardiac arrhythmia during a pre-season game in 2017 and suffered permanent severe brain damage as a result. His Ajax shirt had been 34.
Amrabat continued to wear 34 in honour of Nouri when he joined Fiorentina in 2020.
At international level with Morocco, Amrabat has worn 13, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21. But in more recent times he has made 4 his own and that was jersey he wore during the winter in Qatar.
Man Utd available shirt numbers
An instantly familiar number for Amrabat that is immediately available at United is 4, last worn by Phil Jones until his release at the end of June.
Other unoccupied shirts are 13, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32 and 33.
But there could also be an option for Amrabat to hold out for 34. That is currently taken by Donny van de Beek, who chose it for the same reason in tribute to Nouri when he arrived in Manchester from Ajax in 2020. Although his proposed move to Real Sociedad ultimately fell through, open transfer windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia for a few more days could yet still see him leave.
Amrabat won't play until after the September international break, which means there is not any rush to confirm his shirt number until just before United's next game on 16 September when Brighton visit Old Trafford. That could be enough time for Van de Beek's future to be resolved.
LISTEN NOW TO 90MIN's MAN UTD PODCAST: THE PROMISED LAND
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders and Rob Blanchette discuss discuss Man Utd's summer transfer business, including the signings of Sergio Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat on deadline day.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Sofyan Amrabat potential shirt numbers at Man Utd.