LVG

By Chris
August 16 2014

Simultaneously stating the obvious and fuelling transfer speculation, a tweet which followed the release of Manchester United's squad numbers for 2014/15 season has left fans eagerly anticipating new arrivals.

The club took to social media to tell supporters that "any new acquisitions will be handed shirt numbers that are currently vacant".

With numbers 5, 7 and 9 left empty by the club, significant transfer activity in the near future is anticipated.

Juventus's Chilean international Arturo Vidal remains heavily linked with the club, with a possible part exchange deal involving Javier Hernandez mooted by some reporters.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria is one of the more attack-minded players thought to be on the club's wanted list.

Louis van Gaal is also said to be eager to bring in defensive reinforcements, and intense speculation is talking up a move for Argentinian Marcos Rojo, amid claims the Sporting Lisbon defender has refused to train as he seeks a move to Lancashire.

Adnan Januzaj donning the number 11 jersey, famously held for so long by Ryan Giggs, is one of the talking points of this season's squad number announcement. It suggests the club are set to invest great belief in the Belgian international to deliver on the big stage.

Elsewhere, Anderson moving from shirt number 8 to 28 paints a grim picture for his future at the club; whilst Danny Welbeck seemingly unable to stake a claim for the coveted number 9 jersey perhaps suggests the England striker has work to do to establish himself in Louis van Gaal's plans.

It is, of course, important not to read too much into squad numbers. Indeed, many players likely to feature heavily in van Gaal's XI occupy numbers resembling mediocre cricket scores, and would have wished for noting different, such as RVP retaining the number 20.

However, with the famous 7 jersey yet to be filled - as well as 5 and 9 - significant transfer activity looks to be on the way: with a defender, midfielder and playmaker seemingly the most likely options for United.