Manchester United signing’s jersey number set to be revealed

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Amad Diallo Traore will choose between two jersey numbers after joining Manchester United in January.

Having failed to land Jadon Sancho, Manchester United moved rapidly in the pursuit of the young Atalanta winger, Amad Diallo Traore.

Sancho was expected to be Old Tradord’s next household name for the years to come. The English winger had already proven his talents with Borussia Dortmund. And it was the time for a return to his country for someone the world regards as a generational talent.

Jadon Sancho’s €120m transfer fee remained the obstacle, and the deal never looked likely to get over the line. Instead, United showed their determination to invest in Traore.

To complete the transfer on the deadline day of the summer transfer window, United paid the Serie A club an eye-catching amount of €21 million (£19 million) initially with a potential €20 million (£18 million) more to be paid in various add-ons in the future.

However, it was then a well-known fact that Diallo won’t be able to join his new teammates at Manchester United until January 2021, when he would receive his work permit.

Fabrizio Romano via his Here We Go Podcast claims that Amad Diallo Traore is now ready to join the Red Devils and will choose either 79 or 19 as his next squad number at Old Trafford.

Romano said:

"“Amad Traore’s jersey number will be 19 or 79. He’s very happy. He’s ready to move to England.”"

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Both numbers are very special and bear different yet profound significance to the 18-year-old winger. Coming out of the illustrious Atalanta academy, Diallo became the first player born in 2002 to score a goal in Serie A last season.

With the No. 79 glittering on his back, he racked up his first professional goal in Italy’s top division. Therefore, there is a chance that he might choose the No. 79 as his Manchester United squad number as well and could be looking forward to making it his own.

Diallo, now 18, will turn 19 in July next year. From Manchester United’s perspective, the jersey no. 19 holds greater importance as the respective number is the one donned by the likes of Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck, Gerard Piqué and Edwin van der Sar.

Both numbers currently remain unoccupied. And it would be interesting to see what Diallo decides in January.

What would you choose if you were Amad Diallo Traore?