Bundesliga
Guirassy takes No. 9 shirt and will reimburse fans with No.19
Following the loan exit of Sebastien Haller, summer signing Serhou Guirassy has swapped No. 19 for No. 9, with Borussia Dortmund and the player personally reimbursing fans who have already purchased his previous jersey.
Because neither Haller nor Guirassy have played for Dortmund this season, the number swap is allowed under both Bundesliga and UEFA regulations.
It means the new arrival from VfB Stuttgart can now join the long list of famous Dortmund No. 9s, which includes Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Jan Koller, Stephane Chapuisat and Karl-Heinz Riedle - the latter two were UEFA Champions League winners with the club in 1997.
The news comes just in time for Guirassy to make his potential debut for the club against Heidenheim on Friday night, having returned to training following injury.
"He is fully involved and has trained really well over the last two weeks," said head coach Nuri Şahin. “He makes an excellent impression in training, there's no more handbrake on. He's behaving like a top player should. I'm glad that he's back!”
The Dortmund man has made sure that no fan will go out of pocket having already purchased his "old" jersey, with the club laying out how fans can exchange their Guirassy shirts before explaining that both the club and player will cover all associated costs.