Three Manchester United players could inherit Rasmus Højlund’s No. 11 this season

Three players could conceivably inherit Rasmus Højlund’s No. 11 shirt for Manchester United this coming season.

Manchester United recently announced that Rasmus Højlund would become the club’s next No. 9 after Anthony Martial left the club following the expiry of his contract at the end of June.

However, this means that the No. 11 shirt, which was Højlund’s last season, is now back up for grabs and is expected to have its shoes filled for the coming campaign, as numbers such as 7, 9, and 11 almost always have to have a name attached to them at United.

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Some of United’s greatest-ever players, such as David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andy Cole, and Ryan Giggs, have helped create the legacy behind these numbers. But the new generation under Erik ten Hag is set to carve their own history with the same shirts.

Three realistic players could take up the No. 11 spot this season after Højlund vacated it, and UtdDistrict has detailed who they are and why.

Joshua Zirkzee

Signing for United from Bologna for a fee of around £36 million earlier this summer, Zirkzee is one player who will no doubt be attracted to the No. 11 shirt.

Although many thought Zirkzee might get the No. 9 shirt as it was the number he wore during his final season in the Serie A, he wore the No. 11 for them after his initial transfer.

The player himself stated that he would likely be gifted the No. 11 should Højlund switch to No. 9, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho is the second player who could be gifted the No. 11 shirt following his ever-increasing impact on the team. After his debut season wearing the No. 49 shirt, he was handed the No. 17 after Mason Mount was confirmed as the club’s new No. 7, although many have expected that Garnacho will one day inherit the number.

However, with Garnacho becoming one of Erik ten Hag’s most trusted players, he may once again be handed an even more important number in the No. 11. Garnacho played United’s final 38 fixtures in a row last season and is expected to continue his fantastic trajectory into 2024/25.

Amad Diallo

Finally, a third player who may get the chance to wear a more important shirt is United’s No. 16, Amad Diallo. Amad’s career at United has taken a long time to get up and running following multiple loan spells and a knee injury that kept him out of the first half of last season.

However, slowly but surely, he started to integrate himself into Ten Hag’s starting XI over the course of the latter months of the last campaign, and he is now considered an important first-team member who will be given an increasing number of minutes.

His additional responsibility in the team could come with a fresh number upgrade.

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