Manchester United have revealed the shirt number of deadline day signing Sofyan Amrabat, who joined from Fiorentina on deadline day of the summer transfer window.
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Sofyan Amrabat Shirt Number Revealed
Man Utd Sealed Deadline Day Loan for Midfielder
The Red Devils have officially announced the signing of Amrabat and revealed that he will wear shirt number 4. The shirt was previously worn by Steve Bruce, Juan Sebastian Veron, Owen Hargreaves and Phil Jones, who left after the expiration of his contract this summer.
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The Morrocan international is on loan from his Serie A side after United agreed to pay a loan fee of £8.6 million but has an option to make the deal permanent next summer for an additional £17.1 million with further add-ons worth £4.2 million.
Club bosses managed to complete the deal on a busy deadline day in which Altay Bayindir and Jonny Evans signed deals to join. Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon was another addition on loan after the club scrambled to find cover for Luke Shaw, who is expected to be sidelined with a muscular injury for up to ten weeks.
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Sofyan Amrabat a Huge Boost for Man Utd After Poor Start
Erik ten Hag will be desperate to integrate the central midfielder with his side heading into the international break in 11th place after they earned a paltry six points from their opening four games.
United suffered defeats at the hands of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in their visits to North London, while they struggled and managed narrow victories in fixtures at Old Trafford against Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
In most of those fixtures, there was a clear issue with the balance of the midfield. Against Wolves and Spurs in particular, Casemiro seemed isolated in defensive actions while at the other end of the pitch, Mount and Eriksen have struggled to combine with Bruno Fernandes to create consistent threatening combinations, despite some strong individual performances by the Portuguese international.
What the Moroccan Midfielder Brings to Man Utd
Read More: Manchester United Looking To Offload Duo Despite Transfer Window Closing
Amrabat offers Ten Hag more flexibility in the midfield areas. In possession, he has demonstrated an excellent ability to play passes in both structured build-up and transition attacks. Over the last year, he has completed 94.3% of his passes at medium range (between 15 and 30 yards) and 83.5% at long range (more than 30 yards).
These numbers put him amongst the elite of central midfielders in the top five leagues in Europe, especially when we consider that these percentages are derived from a high volume of passes.
Read More: Manchester United Looking To Offload Duo Despite Transfer Window Closing.
United will be desperate for the 27-year-old to make a significant impact on their midfield and become the metronome of their side. The Red Devils return to Old Trafford on September 16th, where Amrabat will be expected to make his debut against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Main Image Credits: Stacey MacNaught via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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