LEAK

Leaked: Manchester United 16-17 Home Kit to Be Inspired by First Newton Heath Kit

For its second season with the club, Adidas has prepared a revolutionary design, fusing the half-and-half design of the very first Newton Heath kits with modern elements and fabric technologies. All this creates the all-new look of the Manchester United 16-17 home kit.

Evolving from the very traditional Manchester United 15-16 home kit, the new Manchester United 2016-17 jersey follows the new style established by Adidas for Euro 2016.

Adidas signed a record-breaking contract with Manchester United in 2014. The deal, worth £75m (€106m) to make the Manchester United kits until at least 2025. The very first Adidas Manchester United home kit since the brand's return to Old Trafford was launched on August 1, 2015.

Manchester United 2016-2017 Home Jersey to Boast Half-and-Half Look

Manchester United's 16-17 kit will combine two shades of red in a halves design.

The new Adidas Manchester United 2016-17 home shirt will sport a half-and-half design, drawing inspiration from the shirts worn by Manchester United's predecessor club Newton Heath.

Newton Heath FC was founded in 1878 and wore green and gold half-and-half jerseys in its first years, while the red shirts, white shorts and black socks combination we know today was introduced when the club was renamed as Manchester United FC in 1902. Interestingly, fan protests in 2010 encouraged fans to wear green and gold in the stadium in protest against the Glazer family who owns the club.

Then kit supplier Umbro brought back the iconic Newton Heath look as Manchester United third kit between 1992 and 1994, but Adidas' approach for the 2016-17 season is almost entirely different. Instead of sticking close to the green and gold of the original, the Manchester United 2016-17 home shirt features halves in two shades of red, only loosely resembling the traditional Newton Heath shirt.

The design of the new Manchester United 16-17 kit is rounded off with two lines of hexagons, connecting the two red halves and representing the bond of unity that forged the great club of Manchester United. Otherwise, the new Adidas Manchester United 2016-2017 jersey is expected to feature a modern and simplistic look, incorporating only a white white accents, such as the Adidas stripes. The brand's iconic 3 Stripes trademark will be placed on the sides of the shirt, just like with Adidas' Euro 2016 kits.

A replica resembling the original Newton Heath 1892 shirt

All in all, the new Adidas Manchester United 2016-2017 home strip will be a much less traditional design than the first Adidas Manchester United kit. Introducing a never-seen-before half-and-half design of two red tones, the Manchester United 16-17 home kit will go on sale in May 2016.

Do you like the inspiration behind the Manchester United 16-17 home kit? Let us know in the comments below.