United signing's tribute number

Manchester United's new midfielder, Donny van de Beek, will wear No 34 on his shirt as a tribute to former Ajax Amsterdam teammate Abdelhak Nouri.

Nouri, who wore that number, made his senior debut in 2016-17 before his playing career ended prematurely after he suffered cardiac arrest in a pre-season friendly in Austria.

Despite being revived on the pitch and rushed to hospital, Nouri suffered serious and permanent brain damage.

"This is a special thing for me because of my good friend Abdelhak Nouri," said van de Beek, who joined United from Ajax on a five-year contract.

"I'm really close with his family, and his brother is one of my best friends and I talk a lot with them.

"So I decided to take his old number on my shirt. I want to get good memories with this number."

Another Ajax academy graduate, Phillippe Sandler, also chose the No 34 after joining Manchester City in 2018.

Thoughts of Nouri are never far away from van de Beek, who previously paid tribute to his friend after scoring in the 34th minute of a Champions League victory at Juventus last year.

Van de Beek moved for a reported fee of 39 million euros (HK$357.5 million), making him United's first signing of the summer transfer window.

He played 175 times for Ajax, scoring 41 goals.