Barcelona give hot new striker the number nine

After finally returning to Spain following their tour of the United States, FC Barcelona ha formally presented new summer signing Robert Lewandowski to the club's supporters at the Camp Nou. Curiously, he has been handed the number 9 shirt, which may indicate that Memphis Depay could still be moved on before transfer deadline day.

Lewandowski is Barcelona's marquee signing this summer, and due to some delays and complications ahead of the move, he was forced to head straight to the US to join his new teammates before being introduced to the fans at the club's home stadium.

Thousands of culers were in attendance to catch a glimpse of Europe's top scorer, who had joined the Blaugrana from German giants Bayern Munich. He has already played in three preseason games, but has so far failed to score in a Barcelona shirt. Nevertheless, fans remain optimistic about what he can do in the coming season.

It is not entirely shocking that the Polish star was handed the number 9 that he had been wearing throughout most of his career. Lewandowski wore number 12 during the pre-season, but now it is clear that Depay will have to choose something else if he ends up staying with the Catalans. After having been brought in last year by former manager Ronald Koeman, Depay has had a fairly good season with Barcelona. However, Xavi wants to make his own plans, and they need to offload players of some value in order to slash their wage bill. Thus, he has been deemed surplus to requirements.

Club President Joan Laporta presented the player to the fans while thanking Sporting Director Mateu Alemany and Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi for bringing the transfer into fruition. Of course, he also mentioned the player's part in making the deal happen. It may be remembered that Lewandowski made his intentions clear and basically "forced" Bayern Munich to sanction the sale.