Manchester United look to be finally making strides in the transfer market after seemingly dragging their feet on new signings compared to their Premier League rivals.
United will face Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day of the 2022/23 campaign in just a few weeks' time, but going into this week they hadn't yet made an addition to their squad, despite the need for new manager Erik ten Hag to get the personnel he wants in place in good time for the kick off.
The club remain hopeful of luring Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong to Old Trafford, but on Monday full-back Tyrell Malacia arrived at Carrington to undergo a medical ahead of his move from Feyenoord. And shortly afterwards it emerged that Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen had verbally agreed to join United this summer.
READ MORE: Manchester United handed Christian Eriksen transfer boost as Tottenham stance confirmed
United have been linked with the former Tottenham Hotspur man for some time, but faced competition from several clubs. Ten Hag is desperate to add to his midfield options this summer and Eriksen, who scored one goal and grabbed four assists in 11 Premier League appearances for Brentford last term, would add a wealth of experience and quality to his armoury.
Although United are not usually associated with free signings, more often going for the Hollywood effect with big-money transfer fees, the addition of Eriksen to the squad would be an impressive and sensible addition; he knows the Premier League inside out and would add another attacking element to the club's midfield options. He also has plenty left in the tank, only turning 30 back in mid-February.
Therefore, he would be a big-name signing for United, meaning you can guarantee that no shortage of fans would want his name donning the back of their 2022-23 replica shirts. To go alongside his name, most supporters would also be keen to sport his shirt number. But what shirt number would he claim if he was to join United this summer?
Throughout his seven-year stay at Tottenham, Eriksen always wore the No.23 shirt. It was his trademark and everyone instantly knew who was on the ball, even if they could see the number but not the name on the back of the shirt.
Currently, No.23 is taken at Old Trafford, with Luke Shaw its proprietor. That means that the Dane will be forced to select another number if he is to join United.
Most recently at Brentford, he wore No.21, while wearing No.24 at Inter Milan. Both numbers are currently available, but it is important to remember that clubs often change their squad numbers at the start of a new season.
However, if you go back to Eriksen's days as an Ajax player, he wore the No.8 shirt for four seasons, before joining Spurs in August 2013. The No.8 shirt, of course, is up for grabs at Old Trafford right now following the departure of Juan Mata, meaning Eriksen could swoop for it if he is join the club in the coming weeks.
No.8 is a shirt number that you often associate with a player of Eriksen's type, who likes to orchestrate play and dictate proceedings from the attacking-midfield position. It has been worn by a string of famous United players of yesteryear, including Nobby Stiles, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.
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