Monday, July 26, 2021 at 10:39• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 10:51

There were 22 days between the announcement of a deal with Borussia Dortmund and the presentation of Jadon Sancho as a new Manchester United player this month. According to the Daily Mail the delay has to do with Sancho’s attempt to release jersey number 7 in Manchester. He was eager to continue playing with the jersey number he’d been wearing in Germany for the past four years.

At Manchester United, the jersey number has an iconic status, as it was previously worn by players such as George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Sancho has been trying to get Manchester United to make jersey number 7 available in recent weeks. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the manager of Manchester United, refused to ask Edinson Cavani to give up the number.

The Uruguayan has used the number since last season, after Alexis Sánchez, Memphis Depay and ngel Di María wore it before. Cavani’s contract will expire in a year and Sancho could still take over the dream number. Because jersey number 7 was not available, Sancho chose number 25: after all, 2 plus 5 equals 7.

“I will always be grateful to Borussia Dortmund for the opportunity to play in the first team, even though I always knew I would return to England one day,” said the €85 million purchase last week on his transfer. “Playing for Manchester United is a dream come true. I can’t wait to play in the Premier League. Manchester United have a good young squad and I’m sure together we can deliver the successes the supporters deserve.”