Manchester United Squad Numbers Against Astana FC Will Equal 768

Manchester United's group of youngsters to take on Astana FC on Thursday will have an incredible set of squad numbers, with the shirts adding up to 768.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have already guaranteed their qualification from the Europa League group stages and with a long trip to Kazakhstan followed by must win games against Aston Villa and Spurs in the next week the manager has turned to a young squad for Thursday.

Against Astana the team will have combined squad numbers of over 750, as per the Manchester Evening News, with an average of 42.66 per player.

Lee Grant, number 13
Matej Kovar, 51
Max Taylor, 52
Luke Shaw, 23
Axel Tuanzebe, 38
Dylan Levitt, 63
Teden Mengi, 71
DiShon Bernard, 58
Largie Ramazani, 59
Ethan Laird, 41
Ethan Galbraith, 54
Arnau Puigmal, 47
D'Mani Bughail-Mellor, 49
James Garner, 37
Jesse Lingard, 14
Tahith Chong, 44
Angel Gomes, 28
Mason Greenwood 26

Youngster Max Taylor, who has an incredible story already, trains with the squad. Image: PA Images

With Lee Grant at number 13, and semi-regulars Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard wearing 23 and 14 respectively, there isn't a single shirt number in single figures.

The squad numbers, which go all the way up to 71 for 17-year-old defender Teden Mengi, are in complete contrast to the age of the team.

Fourteen of the 18 man squad are teenagers and their total ages add up to just 366 at an average of 20.3-years-old each, with Grant's 36 years skewing the numbers somewhat.

Speaking ahead of the game Solskjaer confirmed at least three of the youngsters will be making debuts whilst Grant will also start, "It's obviously Lee's first start," the manager said, "You're gonna see Ethan Laird, Dishon Bernard and Dylan Levitt from the start and the substitutes that come on, that'll be their debuts, so you'll see a few."

There will be some more experience starting as well with the former Cardiff City boss also confirming that Shaw, Lingard and Axel Tuanzebe will play, adding, "We've done great to qualify after four games, so it gives us an opportunity to give game-time to the experienced lads who need it; Axel, Luke and Jesse have not had too many games and are coming back from injuries."

The Premier League side may still need a win to secure top spot in Group L but they still have a home game against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar to come next month.

It'll be interesting to see how United's youngsters do in Europe, and maybe Solskjaer will have his eye on some of them playing more regularly after the break throughs of Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood this season.

Topics: Football News, Europa League, Manchester United, Mason Greenwood, England, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ryan Sidle

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