England shirt numbers announced, United swoop for Kagawa and City consider deal for Sneijder

The England squad's shirt numbers have been announced for Euro 2012, following yesterday's deadline for final selection.

The Guardian cautions against reading too much into the announcement, though numbers one to 11 include many of England's more experienced players and should at least give an indication of the core of the starting line-up.

The obvious exception to that will be Wayne Rooney, whose number 10 shirt will be absent for the opening two games due to his suspension.

With Danny Welbeck's ankle injury still a cause for concern, Andy Carroll, wearing number nine, looks set to be the man to fill Rooney's boots.

Carroll scored just 16 fantasy football points in a largely underwhelming season at Liverpool, but his performance against Norway has encouraged commentators as varied as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright to former Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder.

Speaking to the BBC after the match, Roy Hodgson said: "I thought that Carroll and Young really did interpret the roles in a way which is quite surprising for me because we haven't worked together for more than a couple of days."

At the other end of the pitch Gary Cahill will wear number five, possibly indicating that he will be preferred over Joleon Lescott to partner Chelsea team-mate John Terry in the centre of defence.

Meanwhile in transfer news, Metro reports that Manchester United may be on the verge of agreeing a £12million move for Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund.

The 23-year-old scored 13 goals in 29 league games for the German champions, so could be an interesting fantasy football prospect next season.

Elsewhere, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Manchester City may be close to making an offer for Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder.

Having lost out to Chelsea in the hunt for Eden Hazard, the Premier League champions have been forced to look for midfield playmakers elsewhere.

It is believed that the Dutchman carries a tag of £30million, having scored 4 goals in a season blighted by injury last year.

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