Shirt numbers — they shouldn’t matter that much, but they do.

From new signings taking iconic numbers to youngsters being given their first jersey for the senior team, there are always notable changes before a new season.

Here, The Athletic’s Premier League writers analyse how shirt numbers have changed at your club, and their significance.

---

Arsenal

The big news is that new striker Viktor Gyokeres decided to take the No 14 shirt forever associated with Arsenal’s record goalscorer, Thierry Henry. Boosted by free printing, sales for Gyokeres’ shirt have already set an all-time high for a new Arsenal signing.

David Raya has moved to No 1 and Ethan Nwaneri has inherited the goalkeeper’s old No 22 shirt. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who, like Nwaneri, signed a new long-term contract this summer, chose to stick with No 49 — a special number for Arsenal fans, as it’s the total games Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ played without suffering defeat.

Other than that, it’s as you were. Of the new signings, Martin Zubimendi took No 36, Christian Norgaard took No 16, Kepa Arrizabalaga was given No 13, and Cristhian Mosquera chose No 3.

James McNicholas

Aston Villa

No major surprises, which is to be expected given they have only signed one player — goalkeeper Marco Bizot, who has been wearing the No 40 shirt — and the squad largely remains the same.

Emiliano Buendia returned from a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen and has been reinstated with the No 10 shirt, while 18-year-olds Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba and Triston Rowe have been given the No 56 and No 45 shirts.

Jacob Tanswell

Bournemouth

New centre-back Bafode Diakite, signed from Lille, has taken the No 18, last worn by United States men’s national team midfielder Tyler Adams during the 2023-24 season.

Julian Araujo has claimed the No 2 vacated by Dean Huijsen, who moved to Real Madrid this summer. Eli Kroupi will take the No 22 that Araujo wore last term.

Goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, signed from Chelsea, has since taken on the No 1 shirt following Neto’s exit to Botafogo. Adrien Truffert will take the No 3 last worn by fellow left-back Milos Kerkez, who signed for Liverpool.

Caoimhe O’Neill

Brentford

Caoimhin Kelleher is Brentford’s new No 1 after Mark Flekken moved to Bayer Leverkusen. Jordan Henderson has taken the No 6 shirt after former captain Christian Norgaard joined Arsenal. Nathan Collins has taken the armband from Norgaard but is still holding No 22, which he also wore at Burnley in the 2021-22 season.

Josh Dasilva has not played since January 2024 due to a serious knee injury, but still has the No 10. If Yoane Wissa leaves, the No 11 will become available. New signing Antoni Milambo has taken over the No 17 shirt previously worn by Ivan Toney.

Jay Harris

Brighton

James Milner has changed from No 6 to No 20 in honour of former Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in July.

Milner has taken over the number worn by Jota at Anfield from Carlos Baleba, who will wear No 17. On Friday, The Athletic reported that Manchester United were not planning to proceed with a move for Baleba.

Yankuba Minteh wore No 17 last season, but head coach Fabian Hurzeler has given him the No 11 shirt following Simon Adingra’s move to Sunderland.

January signing Stefanos Tzimas inherits No 9 from Joao Pedro after the Brazilian’s summer switch to Chelsea.

Andy Naylor

Burnley

Marcus Edwards and Lyle Foster were the biggest movers.

Edwards arrived on loan in January and played a crucial role in the push for promotion, leading to his move being made permanent. As the side’s creative fulcrum, he has taken over the No 10 shirt from Manuel Benson, who will wear No 27.

Foster takes on the vacant No 9 shirt, switching from No 19, despite only scoring two goals from 28 Championship games last season. Armando Broja’s arrival from Chelsea will provide competition.

Of the new signings, full-backs Kyle Walker and Quilindschy Hartman have been assigned No 2 and No 3, while Jacob Bruun Larsen is the new No 7, suggesting key roles for all three.

Andy Jones

Chelsea

The most significant shirt change this summer took place in June, with Cole Palmer switching from No 20 to the No 10 shirt before the revamped Club World Cup in the United States.

Palmer wants to emulate some of the No 10s he idolised, most notably Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney. The decision to give him the No 10 shirt and take it from Mykhailo Mudryk, who is provisionally suspended after a positive doping test, said a lot about how Chelsea regard the futures of both players.

Joao Pedro assumed Palmer’s old No 20, while fellow summer signing Liam Delap did not think twice about taking the No 9 shirt that some have claimed is cursed at Chelsea.

Jamie Gittens will wear No 11, while Brazilian prodigy Estevao opted to stick with the No 41 he wore at Palmeiras. Dario Essugo took No 14, Andrey Santos took No 17 and Jorrel Hato chose No 21 after arriving from Ajax.

Liam Twomey

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have yet to formally announce their shirt numbers for the new campaign, with most players wearing the same numbers as last season in summer friendlies and in the opening fixture against Chelsea.

One change, however, is right-back Daniel Munoz moving from No 12 to the No 2 worn by Joel Ward, whose contract was not renewed this summer after 13 years of outstanding service.

Matt Woosnam

Everton

Everton have not finalised their squad numbers for next season and are urging fans buying new shirts to hold off until they are announced.

But the summer friendlies have, at least, provided some insight into the likely direction of travel. Vitalii Mykolenko moved from No 19 to No 16, his Ukraine shirt number. Fellow left-back Adam Aznou, a summer addition from Bayern Munich, wore No 39 in last weekend’s game against Roma, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wore No 22.

Most of the remaining intrigue surrounds Everton’s No 9 shirt, vacant for the upcoming campaign after the departure of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Beto has been the new incumbent during pre-season, with Thierno Barry, a £27million ($37m) signing from Villarreal, taking No 11.

Perhaps the most exciting number was loan signing Jack Grealish choosing the No 18 worn by two of his heroes at Everton — Rooney and Paul Gascoigne.

Patrick Boyland

Fulham

Bernd Leno wearing the No 1, Rodrigo Muniz with No 9, and Tom Cairney still owning the No 10 — Fulham officially announced their squad numbers for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, and little has changed.

For fans seeking new heroes, Josh King and Seth Ridgeon, two academy prospects who signed contract extensions over the summer, are expected to play more prominent roles for Marco Silva’s side this season.

Ridgeon, the 16-year-old midfielder who had been interesting Manchester United, has been given No 38, his first senior squad number. King has kept the No 24 he wore when stepping into senior football last season, but the 18-year-old could be a literal and figurative successor to Cairney as Fulham’s No 10.

Justin Guthrie

Leeds United

Squad numbers have not been finalised for the new season, but based on what we have seen through the friendlies, the one to watch may be Jack Harrison.

After two years away on loan while Leeds were slaving away in the second tier, the winger has returned to find his old No 11 shirt in Brenden Aaronson’s possession. Harrison has worn the No 38 in this summer’s friendlies, which has made it very clear his future is uncertain. If he takes something more prominent when Leeds face Everton on Monday, it may be a sign he is here to stay.

Incoming left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson has taken outgoing left-back Junior Firpo’s No 3 shirt. Sean Longstaff has taken the No 8 vacated by former loanee Joe Rothwell. Lukas Nmecha has taken the No 14 that Manor Solomon wore with such distinction last season. Jaka Bijol will be in the No 15 that Stuart Dallas left behind after his premature retirement.

Anton Stach has been No 18, last worn by out-of-favour midfielder Darko Gyabi, this summer. Sebastiaan Bornauw has worn the No 23 that Josuha Guilavogui took on during his short time at Elland Road last season. When the final list is confirmed, it will be intriguing to see whether Patrick Bamford, who has been told he is surplus to requirements, will retain the No 9, especially after the arrival of striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Goalkeepers Lucas Perri and Illan Meslier have both worn the No 1 this summer. Perri did wear No 12, which is vacant, at Botafogo in the past.

Beren Cross

Liverpool

The most poignant change is that Jota’s No 20 will be retired and therefore forever associated with the late Portuguese forward.

Record signing Florian Wirtz takes on the No 7 vacated by Luis Diaz’s move to Bayern Munich. The No 9 is available after Darwin Nunez moved to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal. No prizes for guessing who would be primed to take that on.

Elsewhere, there isn’t much change. Milos Kerkez is the new No 6, Hugo Ekitike wears No 22 and Jeremie Frimpong is No 30. Conor Bradley switched from No 84 to No 12 and 18-year-old Trey Nyoni moved from No 98 to No 42.

Gregg Evans

Manchester City

When there are four established goalkeepers in the squad, the No 1 shirt can be a pertinent sign of who will start the season between the posts.

Former academy ‘keeper James Trafford, who rejoined the club from Burnley in the summer, has been given the status symbol — but it may well be nothing more, given Ederson is wearing the No 31 for a ninth season.

Elsewhere, Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders took over the No 4 shirt at the Club World Cup, a subtle sign that the previous wearer, Kalvin Phillips, is out of the club’s plans. It used to belong to club legend Vincent Kompany, so no pressure.

Ruben Dias is still in the No 3, so left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer, has taken over No 21, which was worn by David Silva for a decade between 2010 and 2020.

No one has dared to take on what could become the poisoned chalice of wearing Kevin De Bruyne’s No 17, while Grealish’s departure left the No 10 clear for Rayan Cherki.

There is a change for Nico O’Reilly. The 19-year-old wore No 75 last season as he broke into the team, but has taken the No 33 Kompany wore when he first arrived from Hamburg in 2008.

Jordan Campbell

Manchester United

It has been an unusually interesting summer at Old Trafford for shirt numbers.

Diego Leon arrived from Paraguay and effectively went on trial for his number. Ruben Amorim and United waited to see how the 18-year-old fared in first-team training before giving him a shirt they thought appropriate. On July 18, he got No 30, the three signifying his position as a left-back.

But less than a month later, Leon had to give it up to a newer, more expensive arrival, Benjamin Sesko. It is not common for a striker to request No 30, but Sesko has worn that number his whole career, at least since arriving in Red Bull Salzburg’s first team five years ago. Leon was shifted to No 35, the shirt vacated by Jonny Evans this summer.

Elsewhere, Victor Lindelof left, allowing Diogo Dalot to claim the No 2, having worn No 20 since signing in 2018. Dalot is a member of the new six-man leadership team and now has the corresponding number.

Bryan Mbeumo took No 19, the same as he wore at Brentford and one season at Troyes, while Matheus Cunha was given the No 10 before Marcus Rashford — its wearer for seven years — had even left for Barcelona. Cunha wore No 10 at Wolves last season, and for a couple of campaigns at Hertha Berlin.

Several youngsters were given new numbers, the most notable being Chido Obi getting No 32, the same shirt worn by Carlos Tevez when at United.

Laurie Whitwell

Newcastle United

There is no No 9 at Newcastle. This is a statement of fact, a statement of the bleeding obvious, and a source of huge concern. It is the story of their summer.

Callum Wilson, who previously wore the revered shirt on Tyneside, left this summer.

Newcastle’s attempts to bring in quality strikers — and keep the one they have — have very much not gone to plan.

In another world, Alexander Isak, the most complete Newcastle striker since Alan Shearer, would perhaps have taken it on, switching from No 14. The bigger issue is that Isak wants out.

George Caulkin

Nottingham Forest

The club do not plan to officially confirm their squad numbers until the transfer window closes, which tells a story about the recruitment they still intend to do.

Neco Williams has taken on the No 3 shirt, epitomising how emphatically he has pinned down that left-back spot. Callum Hudson-Odoi will carry the No 7 after also establishing himself as a key figure.

It remains to be seen whether new signings Jair Cunha (No 23), Dan Ndoye (No 14) and Igor Jesus (No 19) will retain the shirt numbers they have worn in friendly games this summer — although Ndoye is unlikely to change, given he specifically asked for that number.

Paul Taylor

Sunderland

They will look a very different team to the one that won promotion out of the Championship in May, with a summer overhaul adding 11 new faces to Regis Le Bris’ squad.

Jobe Bellingham’s sale to Borussia Dortmund sees winger Chemsdine Talbi take on the No 7 shirt, while the on-loan Chelsea forward Marc Guiu has been given No 9, with its previous owner, Luis Semedo, frozen out. Ian Poveda, Jay Matete, Nazariy Rusyn and Abdoullah Ba complete a senior quintet not allocated numbers.

New record signing Habib Diarra, signed from Strasbourg for £30m, has been given No 19, while Sunderland’s most high-profile recruit, Granit Xhaka, has opted for the familiarity of No 34, which he has worn throughout his club career.

Anthony Patterson keeps the No 1 shirt, but Dutchman Robin Roefs is expected to be Sunderland’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Philip Buckingham

Tottenham Hotspur

Radu Dragusin is the only player who has changed, switching from No 6 to No 3, the number he wears on international duty with Romania. It became available after Sergio Reguilon’s contract expired in June.

Dragusin’s switch has allowed new signing Joao Palhinha to take his old shirt number. Mohammed Kudus wore No 14 with West Ham United but has taken over the No 20 shirt at Spurs — the same number he had at Ajax.

There are still a few weeks to go in the transfer window and a key number just became available. Son Heung-min’s departure to Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer means the No 7 shirt is up for grabs. It will be interesting to see if anyone is bold enough to follow in the much-loved South Korean’s footsteps.

Jay Harris

West Ham United

Michail Antonio’s release from West Ham means their new striker, Wilson, takes the No 9 shirt vacated by the Jamaica international.

Arriving from Southampton, right-back Kyle Walker-Peters will wear the No. 2. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf will take on the No 12 in his debut season in the Premier League after joining from Slavia Prague.

Caoimhe O’Neill

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matheus Cunha only wore the No 10 shirt for one season at Molineux, but he was a player worthy of the number, after mixed fortunes for previous wearers Daniel Podence, Patrick Cutrone and Helder Costa.

Jhon Arias, Wolves’ most exciting summer signing by some distance, takes on the mantle and the early signs suggest he could replicate Cunha’s get-out-your-seat buzz.

Other notable switches see Hugo Bueno, back from Feyenoord on loan, take Ait-Nouri’s old No 3 shirt. Fellow left wing-back David Moller Wolfe has taken No 6, a number not worn by an impactful player since Danny Batth in the Championship (Boubacar Traore and, erm, Bruno Jordao have worn it since then).

Tim Spiers

(Top photos: Getty Images)