Barcelona winger asks for No. 11 shirt, 23-year-old star could take Dembele’s No. 7

With the new season just around the corner, the shirt numbers are yet to be officially assigned to the players at Barcelona.

And we could see some major changes in the kit numbers for the upcoming campaign with players like Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets having already left and others like Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie set to depart in the coming days.

Raphinha wants the No. 11 jersey

Now, according to SPORT, Brazilian winger Raphinha has asked Barcelona to give him the No. 11 jersey heading into the new season.

Upon arriving from Leeds United last season, the winger took the No. 22 kit but as per the report, Raphinha wants to upgrade to No. 11 as it is a special number for him. After all, he wears the same kit for the Brazil national team.

The #11 shirt is currently donned by Ferran Torres, who appears set to stay at the club despite being linked with an exit for much of the summer.

But, the report adds that Torres desires to take over the #7 kit that is set to be vacated soon with Ousmane Dembele on the verge of joining PSG.

The 23-year-old used to wear No. 7 during his youth career at Valencia as well as the Spanish national team and wants to do so again with Barcelona.

Ferran, Raphinha need to step up

While Ferran and Raphinha could be in line for upgrades in terms of their kit numbers, the pair will also need to step up their performances a notch in light of Dembele’s imminent departure.

Torres endured a difficult campaign last time out but has shown signs of recovering his form and confidence in pre-season.

As for Raphinha, the Brazilian made some valuable contributions in his debut season, but needs to do so on a much more consistent basis going forward.