Man United's No.7 curse takes new unexpected twist as Ruben Amorim hit with ironic blow

Not since Manchester United gave the shirt to Antonio Valencia has the club had a No.7 who came even close to epitomising why that squad number is synonymous with the Reds.

Angel Di Maria handled himself appallingly, Memphis Depay underwhelmed, Alexis Sanchez likewise, Edinson Cavani was nothing more than fine, Cristiano Ronaldo became a shadow of his former self and left under a cloud and Mason Mount has been plagued by injuries. The sad thing is, there have been very few players, outside of the ones mentioned, who deserved it more.

You could argue that Bruno Fernandes has been the match-winner who could produce a moment of genius to win a game from nothing and could, therefore, do the shirt justice - but that's about it. Alejandro Garnacho is thought to have coveted the iconic number but was overlooked by Erik ten Hag due to his age and you can imagine Amad may suffer the same fate under Ruben Amorim.

Ironically, one name that was never mentioned as a possible contender in the current squad was Antony. The Brazilian wore the No.21 at United with the No.11 off limits when he arrived in Manchester but his performances ensured there was always a ceiling to where his shirt number would go next.

In January, Amorim chose to let Antony leave the club on loan after deciding that he would not fit into the 3-4-2-1 system that he was trying to impose. At Real Betis, the 24-year-old would get his wish and was handed the No.7 shirt with the expectation that he would deliver.

And, what would you know, he is. Antony has three goals in four appearances for the Seville club, along with one assist, and managed to bag his second Man of the Match award on Sunday evening against Real Sociedad. The irony of the situation is that nobody