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Bastian Schweinsteiger has thanked Marouane Fellaini for helping him settle into life at Manchester United.

The German midfielder arrived at Old Trafford from Bayern Munich in a £14m deal this summer.

He wore the No.23 shirt on the pre-season tour of the United States but was handed Fellaini's No.31 ahead of the new Premier League season.

And the 31-year-old insists the simple gesture from the Belgian, and manager Louis van Gaal, has helped to smooth the transition from Germany to England.

He told the club website: "I was happy that the coach gave me the No.31 and was really surprised as well.

"So thank you to Felli too. For me, I played there since I played my first game for Bayern and 31 means a lot to me.

"I didn’t expect the coach would give me the number but he decided, and the club decided, and it gives me a little bit more feeling like I’m at home, yes."

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