Manchester United published the list on 22 August. The documents on Baleba's 70m pound move were signed on the 23rd, so the graphic was out of date within a day. Marcus Rashford has the number 9.
Manchester United released their squad numbers for the 2026-27 season on 22 August, and the most expensive midfielder of their summer is not on the graphic.
Carlos Baleba is 22, a Cameroon international, and he has joined from Brighton and Hove Albion. Fabrizio Romano reported the agreement on 21 August and the exchange of signed documents on 23 August. David Ornstein reported the same package independently: 65m pounds up front plus 5m pounds in add-ons, a total of 70m pounds, with a sell-on clause going back to Brighton and Hove Albion. The contract runs five years, to the summer of 2031, with an option to extend to 2032.
So the answer to the graphic is a calendar rather than a snub. The squad list went out on the 22nd, the documents were signed on the 23rd, and a player who has not signed cannot be given a number. He had been granted permission to travel for his medical that weekend.
The number that did move is the 9. Marcus Rashford has it, free since Rasmus Hojlund joined Napoli.
That shirt has a thin recent record at Old Trafford. The last Manchester United number 9 to win a Premier League Golden Boot was Dimitar Berbatov in 2010-11, with 20 goals, shared with Carlos Tevez, and three hat-tricks along the way. Nobody has done it in the shirt since. Robin van Persie won Manchester United's most recent Golden Boot in 2012-13 wearing 20. Rashford's own best Premier League return is 17, reached in 2022-23 and matching his 2019-20 season.
Baleba is the third midfielder of the window, after Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, and he arrives injured. Ankle ligament damage picked up in a Brighton and Hove Albion pre-season friendly against Strasbourg has kept him out, and no return date has been reported.
The left-back position is still open. David Ornstein now reports a move for Lewis Hall of Newcastle United as unlikely, with Newcastle holding on to the player. Ben Jacobs says he stands by his information that Hall is a target. Alejandro Balde of Barcelona has been reported as the alternative, on single-source reporting attributed to its outlet rather than confirmed. Michael Carrick has said Manchester United will stay active until deadline day, which is 1 September.
Sources: Fabrizio Romano via CaughtOffside, 21 and 23 August 2026 (the agreement, the 65m plus 5m structure, the sell-on clause, the exchanged documents); David Ornstein via Yahoo Sports and football365, 19 to 23 August 2026 (the same package independently, the Lewis Hall position); Yahoo Sports and Read Man Utd, 23 August 2026 (the medical, the five-year contract to 2031 with an option to 2032, the ankle ligament injury); FootballTransfers and Last Word on Sports, 22 August 2026 (the published squad numbers, Marcus Rashford at 9, Rasmus Hojlund to Napoli); Sunday Guardian Live (Baleba absent from the squad graphic); the 2010-11 Premier League season record and Novinite (Berbatov's 20 goals and the shared Golden Boot); NBC Sports and Statista (Rashford's 17-goal seasons).
