Manchester United are eager to end a rather underwhelming 2023/24 season in bright fashion. The Red Devils have a chance to somewhat redeem their failures by winning the FA Cup by defeating Manchester City at Wembley.
Despite the uncertainty over Erik ten Hag’s future as manager and the direction in which the club will head, Adidas hasn’t halted their work in designing unique kits for the Red Devils. The German brand actually impressed many fans with their 2023/24 kits, especially the gorgeous white third kit that pays homage to the club’s roots.
There were, however, some complaints about Manchester United’s green and white away kit and Adidas has heard that. As a result, they seem to have done a complete 360 turn in terms of designing the attire that the Red Devils will wear in away games next season. The only thing about which stands out about it is that the kit is…..blue.
A recent leak has revealed that Manchester United’s away kit for the upcoming campaign is one dominated by the navy blue colour. This is a pretty dark attire, with the navy blue being accompanied by shades of silver. The sponsor logos and club crest are both designed in a light silver colour and there are silver stripes over the shoulder region too.
What is rather unique about this navy blue away kit is also that it features a zig-zag motif on the front. This is made up of the letter ‘M’ (for Manchester United), while Adidas has also opted to change the regular round-neck collar to traditional shirt collars.
Of course, the kit features the ‘Snapdragon’ logo – with the American brand set to become their shirt sponsor from next season. This shirt is going to be accompanied by matching navy blue shorts and blue socks as Adidas really wants to implement this new look for the Red Devils.
The first thing that makes this kit impressive and helps it stand out from the current away attire is how relatively simpler its design it. Adidas have done the right thing in ditching the ‘stripes’ design and going with a more plain style – with the navy blue colour being quite attractive on the eyes too.
A number of Manchester United fans have voiced their admiration for the beautiful design of this kit and their desire to buy it immediately. This is, of course, not the first time that United will wear a blue away shirt, having donned this colour many times across the decades.
They wore a blue away kit multiple times in the 1990s, notably in the 1992/93 season where a similar attire was created by Umbro. Their third kit for the 2007/08 season was also all-blue.
With that being said, there have been quite a few complains about this 2024/25 Manchester United away kit design. The biggest complaint about this leaked shirt is that it actually looks more like a cricket shirt than one worn by football clubs.
In fact, a lot of fans have actually pointed this to be similar to the shirt worn by the England cricket team – especially the kind of design they used to wear in the mid-2000s. There are also some comparisons being made to the Indian Cricket Team’s jersey too.
Some fans have even pointed out that this away kit design looks extremely similar to the Everton home kit. Of course, the Red Devils definitely won’t be able to wear this leaked attire for away games against teams like Everton (who have blue-coloured home kits) because of the clash of colours.
The reality, however, is that Adidas is just paying tribute to a colour that is synonymous with a lot of success at Manchester United. They did, of course, win their first-ever European Cup (Champions League) in 1968 while wearing a blue-coloured kit against Benfica in the final. Footyheadlines claims that this Manchester United away shirt should be released in either July or August 2024.
The Red Devils’ current green and white jersey is being sold for a discounted £36 price on their online store right now. However, the 2024/25 away kit’s launch price is likely to be well above the £100-£130 region. But how much it sells among fans, especially seeing this polarizing reaction, remains to be seen as not everyone is sold on this navy blue design.
