Sofyan Amrabat will write himself into Manchester United history when he takes to the field against Burnley this weekend.
While playing, the deadline day arrival, for which United paid Fiorentina £8 million on a season-long loan, would become the first Moroccan to ever play for the club.
In the Premier League era, 45 countries have been represented in a Manchester United shirt, but Morocco and Turkey, who now have fellow summer star Altay Bayindir at the club, are yet to make the list.
Mahmoud El Boustati, who represented Amrabat before his move to Old Trafford, claimed the midfielder rejected other offers over the summer to ultimately seal a move to United, fulfilling a ‘dream’.
“You had a dream where you were playing under the lights at The Theater of Dreams,” El Boustati wrote on Instagram.
Sofyan Amrabat becomes the first Moroccan ever to play for Manchester United
The deadline day signing is a challenge to be involved against Burnley on Saturday evening
“You put your trust in me to make that dream a reality, and for fifteen years we have been on this journey together that has seen you grow from a young boy with raw talent and a passion for football, to the man you are today are. a world class player.
“My belief in you has never changed and even though the last three months have been difficult with so many obstacles, you turned down every club that came along because you believed that your dream would come true. One club.
“We made it brother, kept a promise, realized a dream. The Theater of Dreams awaits you.’
Amrabat has been training this week and is trying not only to play, but also to write his name in the record books as the first Moroccan to ever represent United.
But who was most represented at United in the Premier League era? Mail Sport takes a look…
Your browser does not support iframes.
It is not surprising that English players have dominated United’s ranks since the inception of the Premier League.
There have been 82 in total, with luminaries such as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Marcus Rashford chief among them.
From that moment on, it is the Netherlands that is in second place, with fourteen players who have played for United.
The club has a rich history of iconic Dutch players, with Edwin van der Sar as the Champions League-winning goalkeeper, Robin van Persie as the missing piece in Sir Alex Ferguson’s eventual title, and both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam were titans in history. sides in which they played.
Admittedly, there were also some misses. Tahith Chong, now at Luton Town, rose through the academy but failed to make the grade, while Alexander Buttner, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Memphis Depay all struggled.
France have had 13 players for United in the Premier League era, including captain Eric Cantona.
Shinji Kagawa (left) is Japan’s only flag bearer, while Alexander Buttner is one of fourteen Dutch
Edwin van der Sar is one of the fourteen Dutch players, while Dong Fanzhuo is the only representative of China
The hard-nosed Frenchman was a game-changing signing and Amrabat will be hoping that if he can have even half the impact that Cantona had at Old Trafford, he will be a huge success.
Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Fabian Barthez and Morgan Schneiderlin were among the Frenchmen who brought their talents to Manchester United, all with varying degrees of success.
On paper, having a fleet of Brazilians has generated excitement about their flair and creativity over the years, but United have more often than not missed the mark when it comes to the nine Brazilians who have played for them in this era.
Rafael and Fabio da Silva are seen as perhaps the biggest success of the nine, with Casemiro and Antony the current Brazilian duo in the first-team line-up.
Andreas Pereira is now rebuilding his career at Fulham, Fred is at Fenerbahce, while Kleberson, Alex Telles, Anderson and Rodrigo Possebon have all largely struggled.
Scotland can boast a strong club like Darren Fletcher from their ninth in the Premier League era, while Argentina have had eight, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have had six and Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo their greatest ever representative at United and beyond, at five.
Amrabat would be the first to fly his flag and there have been 23 countries that have had just one representative at United since the competition began.
Manucho (left) flew the Angola flag, while Scotland’s Darren Fletcher (right) was a big hit
Germany have only had one player at Man United in this time frame: Bastian Schweinsteiger
Angola had Manucho, Japan had Shinji Kagawa, Mexico had Javier Hernandez and, perhaps surprisingly, the only German player in this era to have pulled on a Man United shirt is Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Niche players are prime material for Manchester United’s quizzers and China’s sole representative, Dong Fangzhou, will fall into that category.
Dong hit the headlines when United signed him from Dalian Shide for £500,000 in January 2004. It was a forgettable period and Amrabat will hope for a better legacy as he writes his own chapter at the club.
More recently, Marcel Sabitzer flew the Austrian flag for the first time at United when he played under Erik ten Hag last season, before the boss opted not to make his move permanent.
Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak is the sole representative of Poland, while Radamel Falcao represented Colombia during his ill-fated spell.
Other notable representatives of the single nation include; Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago), Quinton Fortune (South Africa), Park Ji-Sung (South Korea) and Antonio Valencia (Ecuador).
Should Amrabat be given the starring role in central midfield this weekend, he will be the first Moroccan to fly the flag, making it 46 countries and counting in a Man United shirt in the Premier League era.
Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak (left) is the only Polish player to play in the Premier League era