It’s certainly taken a while, but it looks like Manchester United has finally managed to replace their prolific #7 Cristiano, but the question is, will he stay?
Since Cristiano Ronaldo left the Red Devils for Real Madrid many greats have come and gone but no one has been able to match the lofty standards set by CR7. Michael Owen became the first player to wear the iconic jersey after Cristiano and the Brit only managed to bag five goals during his time as a Red Devil. After Owen’s departure, jersey No.7 was passed on to Antonio Valencia, a club legend. The Ecuador international struggled a lot with injuries however and following a poor season and out of respect, vacated the No.7 jersey and started wearing No.25.
The following summer, Manchester United signed Angel Di Maria, but the Argentine struggled with his confidence in the latter half of the season as manager Louis Van Gaal played him out of position. As a result, he left Manchester United for PSG after playing just 32 matches with the club with just four goals and twelve assists. United went all in, over the next two summers as well, and first signed Memphis Depay, who started well but ended up just like the other No.7s before him. In his fifty-three appearances, he only managed to find the back of the net seven times. Things were pretty much the same for their next No. 7 Alexis Sanchez who could only bag five in his forty-five appearances for United after joining them from local rivals Arsenal.
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The latest addition to that list is Edison Cavani, who had a slow start to his United career due to a couple of niggles, but has turned out to be a key player in United’s recent run of victories. Having played thirty-five games this season, the striker from Uruguay has scored a total of fifteen goals this season (9 EPL, 5 EL, 1 Carabao Cup) and his four goals and two assists over the two legs against Roma played an influential part as United qualified for the Europa League Final. This incredible form which displayed by Cavani has had pundits lauding the striker and has made many fans believe that the thirteen-year No.7 curse at Manchester United could finally be over. The big question on everyone’s mind left for Cavani to answer now is…will he remain a Red Devil beyond this season?
Shashank Iyer