Rashford Takes Man Utd No9 as Carrick Era Begins
Marcus Rashford has his number back. Not the one he left, but the one that says as much as any transfer statement: No9 at Manchester United.
On the eve of the new Premier League season and Michael Carrick’s first league game as permanent manager, United confirmed that Rashford will wear the centre-forward’s shirt, a move that lands as a clear indication he will not be leaving Old Trafford before the September 1 deadline.
United open away to newly-promoted Hull at the MKM Stadium in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, the start of a new regime and, for Rashford, a career that looked all but over in Manchester just a year ago.
From frozen out to focal point
Rashford’s old No10 was given to Matheus Cunha when the Brazilian arrived from Wolves last summer. By then, Rashford had already been shunted out on loan to Barcelona after a spell at Aston Villa, his United future effectively put on ice by former boss Ruben Amorim.
For a time, it felt terminal. Rashford was even listed without a squad number in Saturday’s matchday programme for the Hull game, a stark reminder of how far he had fallen in the pecking order.
Yet the picture has changed quickly. The No9 shirt, vacated by Rasmus Hojlund after the Dane turned last season’s loan at Napoli into a permanent move to Serie A earlier this summer, has now been placed squarely on Rashford’s shoulders.
He has already had a taste of it. Rashford wore No9 in Poland last weekend in a 4-2 defeat to Amorim’s AC Milan at the Wroclaw Stadium, his first United appearance since December 2024. Now that number is his for the campaign ahead.
The lineage is heavy. Anthony Martial had it before Hojlund. Before him came Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Radamel Falcao, Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha. Rashford steps into a shirt with history and expectation stitched into the back.
There had been talk that Benjamin Sesko might inherit it this season, but the Slovenia striker has chosen to stick with No30.
Barcelona pass, Carrick backs
Rashford’s apparent re-emergence as a United figurehead follows Barcelona’s decision in June not to trigger their £26m option to make his season-long loan permanent. The Catalan club turned away from the deal and instead moved for other targets, including Rashford’s England team-mate Anthony Gordon from Newcastle.
The 28-year-old had previously been reported to have a clause allowing him to leave for £40m to any club except Liverpool and Manchester City, though that provision has now expired. For the moment, the door to a cut-price exit has closed.
Rashford, believed to be on around £325,000 a week at Old Trafford, is understood to prefer staying at United rather than joining another Premier League side. The priority, from his side, is clear: impress Carrick, the former team-mate now tasked with rebuilding both the team and Rashford’s career.
Carrick, speaking to TNT Sports before the Hull game, played down the symbolism of the shirt but not Rashford’s importance.
“I don't think that suggests any more than what the situation is,” he said. “We're delighted to have Marcus back. He's looked fit, sharp and in a really good place. He offers us an awful lot so for sure we are delighted to have him.”
Noise off the pitch, a pointed response
Rashford’s name has rarely stayed out of the headlines, even when his football has. This week, Jamie Carragher hit back at Gary Neville for again bringing up Rashford on the Stick to Football podcast, keeping the forward in the crossfire of pundit debate.
Rashford responded with a pointed message on social media: “Thanks, Jamie. It would be great to be able to get my head down and play football without my name being mentioned every day.”
The new number suggests he will have little choice but to be central to the conversation.
New numbers for a new season
Around him, the squad is being reshaped. New arrivals Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow have been handed Nos17, 18 and 12 respectively. Fifteen-year-old prodigy JJ Gabriel has been given No77, a bold number for a bold talent, while fellow youngster Shea Lacey switches to No31.
Rashford, though, is the headline. From a player frozen out and stripped of his old identity to the man wearing United’s most traditional striker’s shirt, his story now runs in parallel with Carrick’s.
Both step into Hull with something to prove and a new era to define. The number on Rashford’s back leaves no doubt where United expect the goals – and the answers – to come from.
