Squad Numbers

Academy Players who have kept their original number:

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 66- It feels right that Trent has kept 66 since breaking into the first team at Liverpool, it’s a number which has been seen in other sports (see Joe Root wearing 66 for England cricket), and too be honest, it is an aesthetically pleasing number.

Phil Foden: 47- Now this one is one that I don’t think is going anywhere, seeing as Foden has the number tattooed on his neck, if he changes his number then that would be, slightly odd to say the least.

Declan Rice: 41- This is etremely interesting, as Rice actively chose this number when he moved to Arsenal, as it was his number that he was given at West Ham. It is quite rare that a player retains their original number when moving clubs, I expect some superstition is present in this one.

Rico Lewis: 82- Lewis feels somewhat established now at Manchester City, so it feels slightly strange that with the number 4 among others available, Lewis has stuck with 82. This may well change in the near future

Sean Longstaff: 36- Longstaff has taken a step up in the past year or two, becoming a more capable and reliable member of the Newcastle squad. Longstaff has been with Newcastle for his whole career, and for 8 years he has retained the 36 shirt.

Players wearing the “wrong” number for their position

Son Heung Min: 7- A confusing one, whilst it is common practise for attacking players to chose a number such as 7, but Son has never been a right winger, he’s always played off the left or through the middle, slightly jarring.

Ollie Watkins: 11- Similar story to Son for Watkins, except Watkins has always been a centre forward, and him wearing the 11 is slightly off, especially considering that Villa don’t have anyone wearing the number 9 currently

Mo Salah: 11+Luiz Diaz 7- It’s so wrong, on every level, it is so simple, Salah plays on the right, Diaz plays on the left, they can simply swap numbers to fix an aesthetic nightmare.

Jude Bellingham: 5- This one isn’t egregious to be fair, despite the number 5 usually being reserved for more defensive minded players, this has historical signifcance as Bellingham is emulating Zinedine Zidane, who he himself took the number 5 when he moved to Real Madrid.

William Saliba: 2- An absolute rolls royce of a centre back wearing number 2? It just isn’t right, Saliba has to be wearing the number 4 or 5 as soon as possible. The only saving grace of this is that Saliba plays on the right hand side of the centre back paring, which makes it slightly less of an eye sore.

Player/number combinations which just feel right

Kevin De Bruyne: 17- KDB has had this number ever since he moved to Manchester City, and has very much made the number his own, although Alexis Sanchez remains an iconic wearer of the 17 from his Arsenal days.

Ebere Eze: 10- Do I need to say anymore?

Oli McBurnie: 9- The Scot is the traditional number 9, hold up play, finishing, no nonsence, a bit of housery in there, he couldn’t wear anything else

Malo Gusto: 27- Aside from it being an aesthetically pleasing number, 27 perfectly fits the profile of player that Gusto is; squad player wearing a number in the 20’s because they aren’t part of the first XI and a right back who doesn’t have the number 2 available choosing a number with 2 at the front of it. Pretty perfect

Joel Matip: 32- I can’t quite describe it, but it feels right.

Scott Mctominay: 39- It’s perfect for Mctominay, a player who has always been involved for Man United, but never has been quite trusted to be an established member of the team. Furthermore, no-one is quite sure what his best position is, if you were to reward him with a stronger number, would it be 6, 8 or 10, even 9? It’s not clear what he is, showing why 39 is perfect for him.