The first question after Manchester United announce a signing supporters want answered is usually 'What shirt number will he wear?'
Romelu Lukaku's candid chat with ESPN before his announcement was instigated by his own camp, conscious of enhancing the Belgian's commercial cachet in the American market, so Lukaku revealing his number nine squad number before United did was the perfect headline to accompany the world exclusive.
United officially announced Lukaku's new number on Friday morning after MUTV presenters and the club's Twitteraccount were at pains to stress any training numbers spotted at UCLA are not confirmation of a player's squad number for the forthcoming campaign.
Victor Lindelof had sported two and Andreas Pereira has had 15 emblazoned on his training gear earlier this week. Swedish newspapers were already reacting enthusiastically to the prospect of Lindelof taking the number popularised by Gary Neville before United's
tweet.
A year ago, the Old Trafford Megastore refused to print 'Pogba 6' shirts after United announced their provisional squad number list early but it did not stop some Reds from wearing their new Adidas United Pogba shirts on Wembley Way ahead of the Community Shield. Hours later, United confirmed Pogba would be back.
United supporters' fascination with squad numbers was sparked by the club. MUTV have produced a documentary on the club's magnificent sevens and in 2001 the club magazine published a supplement dedicated to Best, Robson, Cantona, Beckham et al. Ten years ago, United organised a special photoshoot with Denis Law and Wayne Rooney as he received the number after three years with eight on his back.
Rooney's departure and Antoine Griezmann's rejection have left United's most famous squad numbers unoccupied. Seven has become as dreaded as John Doe's killing spree after Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Memphis and Angel di Maria flunked with it stitched to their shirts.
That Memphis was the Premier League's biggest-selling name two years ago had more to do with the number than the name and few expect United to allocate the seven to one of the current squad members. Ivan Perisic is not as marketable as the coveted Memphis was or Angel di Maria, who brought with him a Spanish-speaking army of aficionados.
Jose Mourinho is believed to mull over squad numbers fastidiously and it was a reflection of Adnan Januzaj's peripheral status that he was bumped down to 15 last year while Guillermo Varela and James Wilson lost theirs. Those two are unlikely to play for United again.
An M.E.N. Facebook post inviting fans to suggest who should replace Rooney actually featured responses imploring United to retire the number, a gesture common in Italy. United have never done that and nor should they.
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