The Spanish midfielder moved to Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day in a one-year loan from Atletico Madrid, with an option to make the move permanent next summer.

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He will play for Chelsea with the number 17 on his back, the same squad number he wore for Atletico during his first two campaigns as a regular there, after breaking into their senior team as a 20-year-old, in 2014/15 and 2015/16. That means his Blues debut will be his first match in that number since the 2016 Champions League final between Atletico and their city rivals Real Madrid.

The most recent player to wear that number for Chelsea was Mateo Kovacic, another midfielder who initially arrived on loan at the Bridge from a Madrid-based club, in his case Real. The Croatian wore it for three seasons before switching to the number eight shirt for us this season, just as Saul did for Atletico in 2016.

Saul will become the third Spaniard to take that squad number for Chelsea, as it was also worn by Pedro during his first season at Stamford Bridge, 2015/16, having previously belonged to right-back Albert Ferrer from 1998 to 2001.

Chelsea squad numbers 2021/22

1 Kepa Arrizabalaga

2 Antonio Rudiger

3 Marcos Alonso

4 Andreas Christensen

5 Jorginho

6 Thiago Silva

7 N’Golo Kante

8 Mateo Kovacic

9 Romelu Lukaku

10 Christian Pulisic

11 Timo Werner

12 Ruben Loftus-Cheek

13 Marcus Bettinelli

14 Trevoh Chalobah

16 Edouard Mendy

17 Saul Niguez

19 Mason Mount

20 Callum Hudson-Odoi

21 Ben Chilwell

22 Hakim Ziyech

24 Reece James

27 Tino Anjorin

28 Cesar Azpilicueta

29 Kai Havertz

36 Lucas Bergstrom