Matheus Cunha 'demands number 10 shirt' at Manchester United

Matheus Cunha has reportedly demanded the number 10 shirt at Manchester United ahead of his impending move to Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford currently wears the number 10 shirt at United, but spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa and while the Villans aren't expected to make the move permanent owing to the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, the forward is unlikely to return to his boyhood club.

talkSPORT's Alex Crook reported that Cunha requested the shirt number as part of his contract negotiations, saying: "Sources close to the Brazilian say he sees himself as a protagonist and will relish the pressure of being United’s number 10."

While Manchester United certainly appear to be lacking players of the required mentality to succeed at one of the world's biggest clubs, Cunha doesn't appear to be the sort who'll shirk the responsibility of playing in the Red Devils' famous shirt, and the club could use more players with the 26-year-old's mindset.

While not as iconic as the club's number seven shirt, the number 10 has been worn by club greats such as Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Mark Hughes, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney, with Rashford inheriting the shirt from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The move looks set to be officially completed in the coming days after a brief stall over United's payment plan to Wolves.

The Europa League finalists had agreed to pay Cunha's £62.5m release clause, but wanted to spread the payment over a longer period of time.

As part of Cunha's release clause, Wolves are entitled to a first payment upon completion of the transfer with two more instalments in the next two years with United agreeing to the deal after a period of negotiation.

Cunha is set to be the first major move of what will be a busy summer transfer window at Old Trafford. While a number of players will leave on free transfers, United are also looking to move on the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro, with goalkeeper Andre Onana also thought to be up for sale.

Liam Williams

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