Sofyan Amrabat’s shirt number at Manchester United can now be confirmed, following the completion of his loan move from Fiorentina.
The Morocco midfielder followed Altay Bayindir, Jonny Evans and Sergio Reguilon in signing for the Reds last Friday, ahead of the deadline, during a busy day on the transfer front.
Now that the formalities have been finalised, we can announce that Amrabat will wear the no.4 shirt at United.
Our no.4 shirt was most recently worn by Phil Jones, who left the club this summer when his contract expired. The former England defender had been its occupant for 12 years following his transfer from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2011.
The number is generally associated with either centre-backs or midfielders, and Owen Hargreaves was an example of the latter when he wore it for four seasons, beginning with the 2007/08 campaign when he played a key role in the Reds winning the Premier League and the Champions League. The ex-Bayern Munich man scored a penalty in our famous shootout victory over Chelsea in Moscow.
A pair of Argentina internationals preceded Hargreaves at no.4. Juan Sebastian Veron wore it in midfield upon his arrival from Lazio in 2001 and when he departed in 2003, it was vacant for one season and therefore available for his countryman Gabriel Heinze to take it in 2004/05.
Legendary captain Steve Bruce was our first no.4 following the introduction of Premier League squad numbers in 1993/94. He was succeeded by David May, who switched from no.12 when Bruce moved on at the end of 1995/96.
May kept the no.4 shirt for the next five campaigns, including our Treble-winning season of 1998/99.
Fans can now order ‘Amrabat 4’ shirts on United Direct.
