Juan Mata’s imminent departure will finally free up the shirt number Bruno Fernandes has been craving for.
New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag will be looking to build a squad that is capable to challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool at the very top. And it looks like that rebuild is already underway.
Three high profile exits have been confirmed by the club this week, with midfielders Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata all seeing their career at Old Trafford come to an end.
Despite all three departures bringing in zero transfer fee, they do free up a large portion of funds for the wage budget, and also some desirable shirt numbers for potential incomings.
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However, Fernandes will be eyeing Mata’s number 8 jersey already.
Fernandes has spoken about his wish to be given the number 8 shirt since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon back in January 2020. The Portuguese wore the number 8 shirt for the majority of his time in Lisbon, and also whilst representing his country. Fernandes even have a number 8 tattooed on his arm, the number for sure carries a special meaning for him.
In April during a Twitter Q&A, Fernandes replied to fans on when asked about changing to his preferred number.
He said: “I hope to get it one day….. but for now I hope to have my brother Juan Mata close to me.”
Fernandes currently wears the number 18 on the back of his shirt, a number that also means a lot to him, as he explained when he first joined United.
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He said: “There are a lot of reasons for the No. 18. It's a number I like.”
“The last three years I have played as No. 8 because it's the number my father had as a player and my birthday [date] and it's the number I like.”
He added: “No. 18 is also the birthday of my wife and another reason is, when I grew up, I saw Paul Scholes playing in it and for me having this shirt and this number of an amazing player is something I will enjoy. I have a lot of responsibility”
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Fernandes will be hoping a change of shirt number will bring along a change of fortune, having endured a dismal season with the club.
United finished sixth in the table, 13 points adrift of fourth placed Tottenham and a huge 35 points behind title winners, City.
A huge summer is coming up for United as they look to crawl back up the league table.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes, Juan Mata
