The highly-rated teenager, who joined Manchester United’s youth team from Atletico Madrid in 2020, has been sporting the number 49 shirt since his senior debut in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea last year.

Garnacho excelled under the guidance of Erik ten Hag last season, and as a result, there were speculations linking the Argentine with the iconic number seven shirt after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure. However, Mason Mount, a £55 million signing from Chelsea, was ultimately awarded that honor in July. Instead, it seems Garnacho will be assigned another shirt number previously worn by Ronaldo during his career.

Initially, there was belief that United’s big-money signing, Rasmus Hojlund, would inherit the number 17 shirt following Fred’s departure to Turkish side Fenerbahce. But now, it appears that Hojlund could potentially take the number 11, which became available after Mason Greenwood left Old Trafford in August following a six-month investigation into his conduct.

For a while, it was widely speculated that Garnacho might take on the number seven jersey, and there is no doubt that the 18-year-old possesses the self-confidence to thrive under such pressure. In fact, back in April, he hinted at the possibility by ‘liking’ a tweet that read: “Give Garnacho the 7 shirt.”

Some fans even thought that Manchester United was dropping a subtle hint about Garnacho’s next squad number when they sent out a mobile push notification to their fan base with the caption: “If you’re a true fan of Alejandro, then you’ll score at least seven out of 10 [wink emoji].”

Opinions among fans were mixed. Some were optimistic about Garnacho getting the number, believing he was born to wear it, while others expressed concerns about the added pressure, especially considering he might not be a regular starter in Erik ten Hag’s first-team plans.