Confirmed: Donny van de Beek’s squad number
The midfielder has asked for the no.34 jersey ahead of the 2020/21 campaign though, as a tribute to former Ajax team-mate Abdelhak Nouri, who collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack during a pre-season game in 2017.
Nouri, who is a close friend of van de Beek’s, with the pair having come up through the youth ranks together at the Amsterdam club, was left with serious and permanent brain damage after the incident against Werder Bremen, meaning his career had to be cut tragically short.
The former midfielder, known as ‘Appie’ at Ajax, wore 34 during his 15 appearances for the club, which included three games in the 2016/17 Europa League, where the Eredivisie side made it the final, only to be beaten 2-0 by United in Stockholm.
