Man Utd Confirm Fred Squad Number as New Brazilian Signing Trains With Teammates for the First Time

Manchester United have confirmed that new signing Fred has been assigned the number 17 shirt after he reported for pre-season duty in Los Angeles on Thursday following World Cup duty, meeting up with his new teammates for the first time.

United's number 17 shirt had been occupied by Daley Blind prior to his recent exit to Ajax and has also been worn by Nani, the late Liam Miller, Raimond van der Gouw and Andrew Cole.

Fred trained as a United player for the first time following a £50m move from Shakhtar Donetsk and could be in line to make his unofficial debut for the club in the International Champions Cup friendly against Liverpool on Saturday evening in Michigan.

Nine minutes of an international friendly for Brazil against Croatia in early June is the only football that Fred has played since mid May after failing to get on the pitch at the World Cup.

Big things are expected from the Brazilian at Old Trafford, with many tipping his arrival to provide more balance in midfield alongside Nemanja Matic and allow Paul Pogba greater freedom to influence games in a more advanced role.

"People like Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, even Ander Herrera, are physical and strong midfielders," Mourinho said on the subject earlier this week.

"We think that players like Fred, and Andreas Pereira, are more technical, passing and playing in short spaces and maybe connecting with the attacking players."

Fred wasn't the only player to report for pre-season after a holiday on Thursday, with goalkeeper David de Gea also making his long awaited return after his post-World Cup holiday.

So far this summer, United have been rotating new third choice stopper Lee Grant, who will serve as extra cover for De Gea and Sergio Romero when the season gets going, and emerging talent Joel Pereira, who is set to leave on loan in the coming weeks.