Manchester United winger Amad Diallo said he is happy with his new number 16 shirt after Raphael Varane inherited the no. 19 from him.
The 19-year-old recently returned from an international assignment with Ivory Coast at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and he was welcomed with a slight change in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.
After signing a five-year contract from Real Madrid earlier this month, Varane got the shirt number worn by the Ivorian star in his first five months at Manchester United.
Diallo, on his part, sees his new jersey number as an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of club legends Roy Keane and Michael Carrick who wore the no. 16 during their playing stints at the club.
“When I was told that I was getting the number 16 shirt, I was happy because I know that Michael Carrick had previously worn that shirt for a long time and so it is a number worn by a legend of the club,” Diallo told the club's website.
“So I have to respect the number and the players who wore it before me.”
The arrival of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer is set to limit Diallo’s chances in Solskjaer’s squad this season and Goal understands that he could leave on loan before the close of the summer transfer window.
A week ago, Ivory Coast coach Patrice Beaumelle advised the former Atalanta youngster to look for a new club for adequate playing time ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon next year.
“We are four or five months before Afcon and I would love him to play more games,” Beaumelle said.
"When you have talent like Amad Diallo has, he needs to show it and to improve on the field.
"I think that if he is not playing too much for Manchester United for now it is better to go on loan to show he deserves to be in the line-up or to play more for Manchester United."