Rasmus Hojlund is United's new no.9
Rasmus Hojlund will begin the 2024/25 season wearing a new number on the back of his Manchester United shirt: nine.
The young Dane wore no.11 in his maiden campaign as a Red – a number more commonly associated with great wingers of years gone by.
But following the departure of Anthony Martial, the last holder of the no.9 shirt, Rasmus has agreed to move to the squad number that is synonymous, worldwide, with the centre-forward position.
Rasmus returned to Carrington on Monday – alongside compatriot Christian Eriksen and goalkeeper Tom Heaton – and will fly out with the squad to the United States on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of Tour 2024, presented by Snapdragon.
United start the tour with a game against Arsenal on Sunday 28 July (01:00 BST) at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, before facing Real Betis in San Diego on Thursday 1 August (03:00 BST) and Liverpool in South Carolina on Sunday 4 August (00:45 BST).
You can watch every minute of all three games by subscribing to MUTV.
You can watch every minute of all three games by subscribing to MUTV.
This weekend's tour opener against the Gunners could be a first opportunity for fans to glimpse Rasmus in his new number; a number that has a storied place in Manchester United's history due to some of the great names it has represented.
Perhaps the most beloved Red to have worn the shirt during the Premier League era is Treble winner Andy Cole, who netted 121 goals for us between 1995 and 2001.
Louis Saha and Dimitar Berbatov also donned the shirt while helping the team to Premier League titles during the golden Sir Alex Ferguson era.
In recent years, big names like Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku have enjoyed spells in the jersey.
Hojlund scored 16 goals in his first United season, after joining from Serie A club Atalanta.
The Danish international opened his account in our first Champions League fixture of the season, away to Bayern Munich, and scored five goals in his first four games in the competition.
His wait for a league strike endured until December, but Hojlund enjoyed a strong second half to the season, and even picked up the Premier League Player of the Month award for February after blasting five goals in that period.
Let's hope there are many more to come for United's new no.9.