Joshua Zirkzee's Man United jersey number hinted at in training

Manchester United bought Joshua Zirkzee for $47.1 million from Bologna in July as the first signing under the new INEOS leadership.

The 23-year-old agreed to a five-year contract at Old Trafford, with an option to extend for an additional year.

Though Zirkzee's contract with Bologna had a release clause of €40 million ($43.4m / £33.6m), United chose to negotiate a slightly higher fee to pay the fee over three years, helping with Profit and Sustainability Regulations.

Last season, Zirkzee scored 12 goals in 37 appearances, helping Bologna secure a historic place in this year’s Champions League.

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He came through the ranks of Feyenoord before making the move to Bayern Munich and then made a name for himself at Bologna after loan spells with Parma and Anderlecht.

Zirkzee was named in Ronald Koeman's Euro 2024 squad but made just two substitute appearances for the Netherlands, who were defeated by England in the semi-finals.

Since he arrived at the Theatre of Dreams, Zirkzee is yet to be announced with an official jersey number.

In an interview with Dutch outlet, Supergaande , he said: "That depends a bit on Rasmus Hojlund. He's already there and is also a striker.

"Number 9 is free, but hey, he has 11, so I imagine he wants number 9 now. In that case, I’ll take 11. At Bologna I also had 11, so it doesn't really matter to me," he added.

Some eagle-eyed fans on social media noticed Hojlund was still wearing the number 11 jersey as he returned to practice this week, leaving many thinking Zirkzee will take the number 9.