Manchester United have confirmed that new signing Joshua Zirkzee will wear the club’s number 11 shirt, recently vacated by Rasmus Hojlund.
Zirkzee completed his £36.5m transfer from Bologna in mid-July, having helped the underdog Serie A side unexpectedly qualify for the Champions League with a top five finish.
He wore both 9 and 11 during two years at Bologna and insisted he didn’t mind which jersey he was assigned at Old Trafford when it became apparent that Hojlund might be about to switch.
Hojlund wore 11 for United last season following his £72m arrival from Atalanta. But the departure of Anthony Martial at the end of his contract freed up the number 9 shirt for the first time in several years and the Dane, having already taken it over at international level, saw his opportunity.
Once Hojlund’s shirt was decided, it seemed pretty obvious what Zirkzee would do.
The Netherlands international, who started his senior career at Bayern Munich, now becomes the latest occupant of number 11 at Manchester United.
It has been previously worn by a number of legends, including Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, despite all three being mostly known for other shirts.
Ryan Giggs broke records with 11 on his back from the early 1990s until his 2014 retirement. But Adnan Januzaj, only 19 when he inherited the shirt and Anthony Martial, who didn’t actually want it after being pushed out of his favoured number 9, saw less success.
Zirkzee missed out on United’s summer tour of the United States after reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2024 with the Netherlands.
But he is in full training with his new teammates and could make his debut in Saturday’s FA Community Shield against Manchester City.
The 23-year-old Dutchman was expected to serve as a complementary addition to United’s frontline this season, but could now find himself leading the line in the opening weeks of the campaign.
Hojlund suffered a hamstring issue in the pre-season friendly against Arsenal and is expected to be unavailable until after the September international break.
What we know
- Joshua Zirkzee has Manchester United shirt number confirmed
- Dutch forward has taken iconic Old Trafford jersey
- Decision follows on from Rasmus Hojlund vacating number 11 shirt.
