Three shirt numbers Manuel Ugarte could wear as Manchester United debut delayed

Manuel Ugarte completed his move to Manchester United on deadline day but will have a delayed debut.

United reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain on an initial £42 million fee for Manuel Ugarte, with the potential for a further £8 million in add-ons.

Ugarte is expected to slot into Erik ten Hag’s midfield alongside huge talent Kobbie Mainoo.

However, due to the club not registering him in time, he will be unable to play in United’s Premier League clash against Liverpool this weekend.

Instead, his debut will likely come against Southampton midway through September once the international break is over.

In terms of a potential shirt number for the Uraguyan, his favoured options are not available. He wore the no.15 at Sporting and the no.4 at PSG, but fellow new signings Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt have taken those numbers at Old Trafford.

He also regularly wears the no.5 for his country, but Harry Maguire wears that at the club and is not set to leave in the window.

There are three main options on the table for Ugarte as he prepares to finalise his move to the club.

No.19

Apart from the no.13, which should be strictly used by your backup goalkeepers, Raphaël Varane’s old number is the only one currently available under 20 at United.

Also previously worn by the likes of Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo, the no.19 could make good sense for Ugarte to wear. It would represent his value to the squad more than a larger number.

This appears most likely also since the following available numbers come between 26 and 34.

No.25

United saw Jadon Sancho depart the club on deadline day. He joined Chelsea on an initial loan but the London-based club have an obligation to buy the winger for around £25 million next summer.

With a lack of standout numbers, Ugarte could look to take this one, most notably worn by Antonio Valencia.

No.28

Finally, it could make sense for Ugarte to decide to wear Facundo Pellistri’s previous no.28 due to their friendship.

The Uruguayan pair would’ve liked to link up at Old Trafford, but Pellistri decided to leave the club permanently this summer to join Greek club Panathinaikos.

Ugarte may decide to get that same shirt number, especially if no others are jumping out to him.

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