Marcel Sabitzer will hope to end a nine-year jinx of No.15s at Manchester United during his loan spell at Old Trafford.
The Austrian midfielder arrived from Bayern Munich on deadline day, signing on loan for the remainder of the season following news that Christian Eriksen will be out until around April. News of the Dane's ankle injury was followed swiftly by another blow as Scott McTominay would be out for around two weeks.
A quick-fire injury crisis in midfield will likely see Sabitzer thrown in at the deep end on Saturday, when United host Crystal Palace. The midfielder was not registered in time to face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday but is expected to make his debut over the weekend.
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And in doing so, he will hope to end what has been nearly a decade of underwhelming No.15s. Sabitzer learned of his shirt number on Thursday morning, taking on the lowest number available that is not typically saved for goalkeepers - 13.
The No.15 shirt has endured a troubled history in recent years, the last successful player to don it being Nemanja Vidic between 2005 and 2014. The Serbian made 300 appearances for United during that time, winning five Premier League titles and one Champions League among other honours, undoubtedly going down as a Manchester United legend.
Since then, however, the shirt number had two seasons unused before being handed to Adnan Januzaj for the 2016/2017 campaign. Despite showing initial promise after graduating from the Manchester United Academy, though, Januzaj left for Real Sociedad the following summer.
The Belgian donned the shirt for just one campaign before it eventually found its way to Andrea Pereira, the Brazilian taking No.15 for three of the last four seasons. But the Brazilian made just 45 appearances for United, scoring two goals and departed for fellow Premier League outfit Fulham last summer.
When Sabitzer steps out onto the Old Trafford turf on Saturday wearing the No.15 shirt, the Austrian will no doubt hope to hark back to the days of Vidic, rather than those who succeeded him.
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