Mason Greenwood switches numbers to become Manchester United's new No 11... but No 7 is still free

Mason Greenwood has been handed the number 11 shirt at Manchester United for the 2020-21 season.

The 18-year-old, who wore the number 26 shirt up until now, had a superb breakthrough season at Old Trafford last term as he scored 17 goals in all competitions for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.

Greenwood's superb form saw him called up by England manager Gareth Southgate for September's international fixtures and the winger is expected to play a key role in the United first-team squad next season.

The number 11 shirt at Manchester United was worn by Ryan Giggs for nearly 25 years. The Welsh winger played 963 times for the Red Devils between 1991 and 2014, scoring 168 goals.

Fellow Manchester United legends Mark Hughes and Andrey Kanchelskis have also worn the number over the years.

Since Giggs' retirement six years ago, the shirt was handed over to Adnan Januzaj for two years, before Anthony Martial was given the number after Jose Mourinho handed over the Frenchman's number 9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016.

After Romelu Lukaku's departure last summer, Martial reclaimed the number 9 shirt, leaving the number 11 shirt vacant for the 2019-20 season.

Greenwood's number change means United's exciting front three of Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood will wear the numbers 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

However, the Red Devils opted not to give Greenwood the infamous number seven shirt, which has been worn by the likes of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo in the past.

Since Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2009, five players have worn the number seven jersey only for all of them to flop at Old Trafford.

Michael Owen was the first player to take over the number after the Portuguese winger's departure, while Antonio Valencia also held the honour for a short while.

Mega-money signings Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay and Alexis Sanchez were given the shirt number upon their respective arrivals - but all of them lasted little over a season at Manchester United.

The Red Devils have been strongly linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho, who is currently on international duty with Greenwood and England.

The 20-year-old winger is widely tipped to be the next man to have the number seven shirt, with United fans desperate he is not the latest attacking flop to be seen wearing it.