Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho has opted to change shirt numbers for the new season, and will now wear No. 3.
Sakho assumed the No. 17 shirt on his move to Merseyside from Paris Saint-Germain, but has now taken the number previously worn by Jose Enrique.
Enrique left the club towards the end of 2015/16, with Sakho becoming the next in a long line of defenders to wear the No. 3.
Since the Premier League‘s inception, David Burrows, Julian Dicks, Bjorn Tore Kvarme, John Scales, Christian Ziege, Abel Xavier, Steve Finnan and Paul Konchesky have also worn the shirt.
Sakho will be hoping his legacy is closer to Finnan than Konchesky, though the Frenchman won’t be able to take to the field until the start of the new league campaign due to injury.
The 25-year-old is currently suffering from an Achilles problem, and is expected to miss Liverpool’s pre-season work, leaving him even further behind on match fitness.
Sidelined for three months following a UEFA suspension for an anti-drug charge, Sakho’s case was later dismissed.
He will look to use the 2016/17 to put his disappointment behind, having missed both Europa League final with Liverpool and the European Championship with France.
Sakho’s previous No. 17 shirt was the 10th-most popular for orders of Liverpool’s new away kit.
For those supporters who have purchased a new shirt with his old number, he has arranged remarkable compensation, as revealed by the club on Monday afternoon:
As a gesture to those fans that have already purchased the 2016-17 home or away jerseys with Sakho’s name and number 17 on the back, Mamadou would like to offer supporters the opportunity to have them signed.
All official 2016-17 season Liverpool FC shirts printed with ‘Sakho 17’ should be sent to Anfield by the September 1, 2016, along with a stamped self-addressed envelope big enough to contain your jersey.
It will then be signed by Mamadou and returned to the supporter using the self-addressed envelope.
We strongly recommend supporters send the shirts via recorded delivery as the club cannot accept responsibility for items lost in the post.
They should be sent to:
Mamadou Sakho Shirt Signing
Liverpool Football Club
Anfield Road
Liverpool
L4 0TH
Sakho faces competition from the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez for a starting place in Jurgen Klopp‘s back line this season.
This is likely to be added to by the signing of Estonian international Ragnar Klavan, who is set to join the Reds from Augsburg in a deal worth around £4.2 million.
Klavan is due on Merseyside for a medical on Tuesday, and should complete his move shortly after.
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