The numbers game: Aston Villa reveals squad kit numbers

The curtain is off and the numbers are out. Time to read the tea leaves and make some sense of it... that was half in jest but seriously some interesting tidbits are always part of the release and this year is no different.

Squad List:

2. Ritchie De Laet

3. Neil Taylor

5. James Chester

6. Glenn Whelan

8. Henri Lansbury

9. Scott Hogan

10. Jack Grealish

12. Jed Steer

14. Conor Hourihane

15. Mile Jedinak

16. James Bree

17. Keinan Davis

19. Andre Green

20. Birkir Bjarnason

21. Alan Hutton

23. Andre Moreira

24. Tommy Elphick

25. Gary Gardner

26. Jonathan Kodjia

27. Ahmed Elmohamady

29. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy

31. Mark Bunn

33. Matija Sarkic

37. Albert Adomah

Hmmmmmm.....

Let’s dig in.

First thing to notice — the unassigned numbers #1, #4, #5, #7, #11. Theoretically — that means five of the first eleven spots are being held open for possible transfers (Added #7 after publication because I missed it. **ahem** Snodgrass). I know that is not usually the case because some people like their own numbers — see Kodjia taking back over his #26 with no John Terry in the side. But the door is open and some players love specific numbers — especially #11 (which was owned last campaign by the out of contract Gabriel Agbonlahor).

The snubs: Jake Doyle-Hayes (previewed here, you should check out the rest of the players previews too) has been left number-less. The midfielder has loads of potential but is stuck behind a really deep midfield. Managing Editor James Rushton is likely fuming so you should not pester him about it (do it). Young players who aren’t first team regulars often don’t get numbers — so JDH and others (Callum O’Hare, Harvey Knibbs, Jack Clarke, and Easah Suliman) could still play a role this season.

On the other side — Micah Richards has been dropped from his #17. Richards will likely see out his contract without playing another match. Ross McCormack is in the same boat — although that isn’t health related as far as we know.

What jumps out at you? Let us know in comments.