Napoli announce squad numbers for new signings

With the start of the new year comes two new signings for Napoli, and with them two new shirt numbers for fans to consider when buying a Napoli jersey. When the club officially announced the signings of Manolo Gabbiadini and Ivan Strinic, they also announced the shirt numbers that the club's newest players would be wearing.

Strinic will wear the number 3 shirt, a traditional fullback number. He wore 17 at Dnipro and traditionally wears 2 for Croatia, so this will be a bit of something different. The 17 is obviously taken, as Marek Hamsik has worn it for quite some time now, and the 2 hasn't been given out since Gianluca Grava left the club. The last player to wear the number 3 shirt for Napoli was Ignacio Fidelef three seasons ago; Fidelef hasn't played for Napoli since then, but is still under contract with the club and is on loan at Ergotelis in Greece.

Gabbiadini takes the number 23, after having worn 11 with Sampdoria. That's Christian Maggio's number, so something new was required. All the usual suspects for attackers are already taken so he went with... his age, apparently? No reason was really given, so that makes as much sense as anything else. The last Napoli player to wear 23 was Walter Gargano in 2012 before his two years away on loan. The number was still available when he returned, but he didn't want it back and went with his current 77 instead.

So now we know what to look for on the pitch as we get used to watching a couple of new players. It's always a little odd getting used to new faces and numbers out on the field, but before long it will be like they were always here.