Kovacic joined on a four-year-deal today after arriving from Chelsea.
He will follow in the footsteps of Ilkay Gundogan who has vacated that jersey after seven seasons in the sky blue following his transfer to Barcelona.
It was also the number worn by Colin Bell - widely regarded as one of the Club’s greatest players and a key figure in our iconic side of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Other regular wearers of that number include Samir Nasri, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ian Bishop.
During his spell at Stamford Bridge, he wore No.17 for three seasons 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 before switching to No.8 for his final two campaigns for the Blues, taking that shirt from Ross Barkley who left on loan to Aston Villa.
He also started his career as No.8 at Dinamo Zagreb where he played for three seasons between 2010 and 2013 before joining Inter where he wore No.10 for three campaigns.
From there, the midfielder moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2015/16 campaign where he wore No.16 for two seasons before switching to No.23 for his final term before joining Chelsea.
Kovacic is our first signing of the summer transfer window and will now look forward to the 2023/24 season.
