In the current season, Thilo Kehrer has worn number 24 for West Ham United and then 5 for Monaco, having moved to the principality on loan in January.
The German international took 24 when he joined the Hammers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, having also had it at his previous club, Paris Saint-Germain.
The move to 24 at the beginning of 2021-22 meant that that section of his squad number journey represented today’s date – 20-4-24.
When Kehrer first broke through at Schalke 04 in 2014-15, he was assigned number 39 and then the following season he moved to 20. It was that which he still had at the beginning of what would prove to be his last campaign at Gelsenkirchen, 2017-18.
Kehrer scored twice in the last game of the season as a win over Augsburg earned Schalke a place in the Champions League. However, while he would be in the competition, he would be wearing a darker shade of blue as PSG came calling in August, just before he made his senior debut for Germany.
Grzegorz Krychowiak’s loan move to West Bromwich Albion had freed up the PSG number 4 shirt, which was allocated to Kehrer. He wore it in title wins in his first two seasons but then, in 2021, the club signed Sergio Ramos. While the Spanish defender was linked with number 15 at international level, he had worn 4 throughout his stint at Real Madrid.
Kehrer acquiesced to allow the new man to wear 4 and Ramos expressed his gratitude: “I am quite superstitious about it and I love the number 4, because I have worn that number since the start of my career,” he said, “it has followed me throughout my career and my life, bringing with much luck and many victories.
“The number 4 is a part of me now as a person and as a professional. For me, it’s a privilege to be able to wear this number in a team as great as Paris Saint-Germain. It is very special for me to wear the number 4 here in Paris.”
Ramos’ memory was slightly faulty – he wore 35, 32 and 5 at his first club Sevilla before donning 4. Equally, the article on the PSG site announcing the switch was incorrect when he said that Kehrer was reverting to “the number 24 that he wore when he burst onto the scene at Schalke 04.”
Kehrer would wear 4 during 2021-22 when PSG had to line out 1-11 in the Coupe de France – he also wore 2 in that competition.
At the end of that season, West Ham signed Kehrer. Number 6 was empty, but obviously unattainable as it was retired in honour of Bobby Moore in 2008, while 14 and 16 were also free. However, Ryan Fredericks’ move to Bournemouth had freed up 24 and so Kehrer was able to claim it.
A year and a half later, he was heading back to Ligue 1 – this time, he was also joining a club with a vacant number 24 but showed a preference for a single-digit number again.
