What shirt numbers will Sterling and Koulibaly wear at Chelsea?
Cameron Smith
- 19 Jul 2022 19:38 BST
- 3 min read
Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly have both been given their pre-season shirt numbers following their respective moves to Chelsea.
Sterling, 27, has arrived after years of success at Manchester City, while Koulibaly has signed following his eight-year stint at Napoli.
The pair were both at the top of Thomas Tuchel's transfer wish-list, and the German head coach has been buoyed by Todd Boehly's acquisitions of both stars.
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Tuchel has revealed that Sterling is set to make his Chelsea debut in the Blues' pre-season friendly against Charlotte FC on 20 July, but Koulibaly will have to wait a little longer having joined the club at a later date to Sterling.
However, both players have learned what shirt numbers they will wear for their Chelsea debut. The Stamford Bridge outfit have revealed the pre-season shirt numbers for the new additions, and while these numbers aren't confirmed for the season itself, they give an insight into which numbers may be worn down the line.
Neither player's shirt number was released upon signing, and their shirt number for the 2022-23 season has not yet been announced.
However, it is known that Sterling will wear the number 17 shirt for pre-season, while Koulibaly will wear the number 26 shirt.
Pre-season shirt numbers
The former has worn the number seven shirt for the last seven years of his career at club level, but won't be able to don that shirt at Chelsea as N'Golo Kante currently wears that number.
His number seven shirt at Manchester City, on the other hand, has already been taken by Joao Cancelo, who previously wore the number 27 shirt.
Previous Chelsea players to wear the number 17 shirt include Eden Hazard, Pedro, Mateo Kovacic and most recently Saul Niguez last season.
Koulibaly, however, will wear the number 26 shirt in pre-season, which is an iconic shirt number at Chelsea as it was famously worn by club legend John Terry. In fact, no player has worn the number 26 shirt since Terry's departure in 2017.
Koulibaly wore the 26 shirt during every season he played at Napoli.
Academy star Conor Gallagher has also been handed a pre-season number after spending the past three seasons out on loan. The England international has been handed the number 15 shirt for the pre-season friendlies.
