Chelsea have confirmed the squad number new signing Raheem Sterling will wear for the club.
The England winger, 27, arrived on a five-year contract earlier in the summer as the highest-paid player in the Blues squad after leaving Manchester City.
A fee of £50million was agreed between the clubs ahead of Sterling’s contract expiring on Eastlands next year, with his place in Pep Guardiola’s team far-from guaranteed.
Thomas Tuchel will, however, make Sterling a central figure in his attack - and after handing him the No17 shirt for pre-season, the club confirmed on Thursday that he will don the number for the 2022-23 campaign.
Conor Gallagher has been given the No23 shirt with Armando Broja handed No18 for their first full seasons inside the senior squad.
Recent new signing Carney Chukwuemeka will don the No30 shirt following his £20m switch from Aston Villa.
As had already been announced, Kalidou Koulibaly will take John Terry’s old No26 for his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea 2022-23 squad numbers
1 – Kepa Arrizabalaga, 3 – Marcos Alonso, 5 - Jorginho, 6 – Thiago Silva, 7 – N’Golo Kante, 8 – Mateo Kovacic, 10 – Christian Pulisic, 11 – Timo Werner, 12 – Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 13 – Marcus Bettinelli, 14 – Trevoh Chalobah, 16 – Edouard Mendy, 17 – Raheem Sterling, 18 – Armando Broja, 19 – Mason Mount, 20 – Callum Hudson-Odoi, 21 – Ben Chilwell, 22 – Hakim Ziyech, 23 – Conor Gallagher, 24 – Reece James, 26 – Kalidou Koulibaly, 28 – Cesar Azpilicueta, 29 – Kai Havertz, 30 – Carney Chukwuemeka, 31 – Malang Sarr, 33 – Emerson Palmieri
The Senegal star said of his conversation with the club legend: “I always want to know the full story before I go somewhere and I asked him a lot of questions about the club, about the supporters and the number of John. I wanted to ask about the number for Chelsea.
“He gave me his number directly. I called him and at first, he didn’t believe it was me - he thought it was a joke. He then called the team manager to ask if it was really me.
“After, I asked him again and I told him fully that I wanted to take his number. I know that for him it is a really important number. It is also an important number for me as I took it in Napoli and I wanted it again here in Chelsea. When he told me yes, I was really happy.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga has been given the No1 shirt despite being near a loan move to Napoli while the No2, No4 and No9 slots remain vacant. Ross Barkley, Michy Batshuayi and Billy Gilmour are among six senior players who have not been included on the list.
