Raheem Sterling Takes No.17 At Chelsea (For Now) As Man City Give Joao Cancelo His No.7
Chelsea and Manchester City have updated their list of squad numbers following Raheem Sterling's move from the Etihad Stadium to Stamford Bridge.
Sterling will make his Chelsea debut this summer while wearing the no.17 on his back.
Chelsea's squad number update issued on Tuesday also confirmed that no.26 had been assigned to fellow new signing Kalidou Koulibaly.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher was upgraded from no.38 to no.15.
Koulibaly had been widely expected to become Chelsea's new no.26, having worn the same number at Napoli for the last eight seasons.
However, no player had worn no.26 for Chelsea's first team since it was vacated by club legend John Terry in 2017.
Sterling taking no.17 was slightly less predictable. The England international was no.7 at City but that number is currently occupied by N'Golo Kante at Stamford Bridge.
Raheem Sterling was Man City's no.7 but he will begin his Chelsea career wearing the no.17
IMAGO/PA Images/Mark Pain
However, Chelsea's update made it clear that these numbers could change again before the Premier League seasons begins in August.
A club statement read: "Ahead of our next match on the United States tour, we can confirm the pre-season shirt numbers for our two new signings and a change for another player.
"Raheem Sterling has taken on the 17 shirt for these preparation games while Kalidou Koulibaly will wear 26.
"Conor Gallagher, who wore 38 in our win over Club America at the weekend, has changed to number 15.
"Please note, these pre-season numbers are not confirmed for the season ahead."
Man City also issued an update regarding squad numbers on Tuesday.
City informed fans that defender Joao Cancelo had been upgraded from no.27 to the no.7 recently vacated following Sterling's move to Chelsea.
No.7 is unusual for a defender to wear but it reflects Cancelo's attacking nature.
Cancelo scored three goals and provided 10 assists in the Premier League and Champions League last season.