Manchester United Give No. 9 Shirt to Anthony Martial After Romelu Lukaku Sale

Anthony Martial will wear the No. 9 shirt for Manchester United next season, the club have confirmed.

The Red Devils tweeted a video that showed the France international will regain the number he lost to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016. Martial was given the No. 11 shirt after United signed the mercurial Swede:

After Ibrahimovic left for the Los Angeles Galaxy, the coveted shirt was given to Romelu Lukaku, who wore it for the last two seasons before departing for Inter Milan earlier this week.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has played Martial as a centre-forward throughout pre-season, and he is expected to compete with Marcus Rashford to feature through the middle.

The 23-year-old scored twice in the central role during the Red Devils' pre-season tour, finding the net against Tottenham Hotspur and scoring a penalty against Leeds United.

The new season is an important campaign for Martial after a disappointing spell in his recent career. The Frenchman was left out of his country's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, consequently missing out on their success in the tournament.

Martial struggled during Jose Mourinho's tenure at Old Trafford and was often left on the bench, but Solskjaer has shown faith in the striker by giving him a prime squad number.