United hand Adnan Januzaj legendary No 11 shirt

 

 

Manchester United hand Adnan Januzaj legendary No 11 shirt but Louis van Gaal leaves numbers five, seven and nine vacant

• Louis van Gaal leaves three shirt numbers blank ahead of new season fueling speculation of major new signings 
• Januzaj will take on Giggs' No 11 shirt next season 
• The midfielder wore No 44 after breaking into the Red Devils' first team
• Giggs retired from playing at the end of last season to become assistant manager under Louis van Gaal
• He did not want his famous shirt number to be retired
• The 40-year-old wore No 11 for virtually his entire Old Trafford career 

 

Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj has been given the honour of taking on Ryan Giggs' famous No 11 shirt next season, but Louis van Gaal fueled speculation of more summer signings by leaving three first-team numbers unfilled.

 

United have not replaced Rio Ferdinand in the number five shirt, while numbers seven and nine remain unused, with Louis van Gaal looking to bring in signings before the season starts.

The club said on twitter that any new signings will be handed shirt numbers that are currently vacant.

Januzaj moves from the number 44 to take up the iconic 11 jersey, while new signings Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera will wear the numbers three and 21 respectively.

Giggs, who was the only previous holder of the 11 shirt, called time on his 23-year playing career at Old Trafford at the end of last season after briefly becoming the club's caretaker boss following the sacking of David Moyes.

He has since become assistant manager to Louis van Gaal, leaving the shirt number he occupied for almost his entire time at United free.

Januzaj, who wore No 44 after breaking into the first team last season, will take on Giggs' old number as he aims to secure himself a regular place in Van Gaal's plans.

Some clubs have decided to retire the number of their most long-serving players, with West Ham choosing to no longer hand out Bobby Moore's No 6 shirt and AC Milan opting against using No 3 after Paolo Maldini hung up his boots.

But speaking to MUTV in July, Giggs confirmed that he didn't want United to follow suit. Asked whether his No 11 shirt should be retired, the 40-year-old said: 'No. There are obviously special cases but it just depends on the club really. 

'I don't think it's [right] for United where they constantly churn over great players. I haven't thought about who will take over the number 11 shirt - that's a good question.

'They're under pressure, aren't they? I look forward to seeing who takes it and wish them all the best.'

Januzaj, who signed a new five-year contract with the Red Devils in October, is the player chosen to follow in Giggs' esteemed footsteps.

The 19-year-old made 27 Premier League appearances last season, scoring four goals as United finished in a disappointing seventh place. 

While Januzaj has taken on his new shirt from a club legend, Giggs also revealed that he was given the No 11 shirt simply because of how teams used to be numbered in the early 1990s.

He said: 'I wore number seven for a few games, when the shirts were just numbered one to 11. 

'But 11 was usually worn by the left winger so it really just happened [that I kept it when squad numbers were introduced].'