Growing concern Man Utd blundered by signing Senne Lammens with sources all saying the same thing

There is growing concern Manchester United have made a mistake by signing Senne Lammens, though the player has revealed how he will combat the one major concern frightening the pundits.

Man Utd’s search for a new goalkeeper narrowed down to two options in the summer – Senne Lammens and Emiliano Martinez. A loan approach was made for Martinez in the very early stages of the window. After Aston Villa informed Man Utd it was permanent deal or bust and the price was £40m, United moved for Lammens.

Ultimately, the Red Devils sealed a deal on deadline day worth £21.7m (£18.2m plus £3.5m in add-ons).

The Athletic stated Lammens will now compete with the under-fire Andre Onana for the starting spot. Altay Bayindir will be bumped down to third choice, with Tom Heaton in reserve as option four.

Lammens certainly caught the eye last term when producing a series of impressive metrics. Per the BBC, Lammens ‘ranked first for total saves made (173) with a 77.4% save percentage’ out of every goalkeeper in Europe’s top 10 leagues.

Their report added: ‘Using xG (expected goals), he was expected to concede 66.4 goals but only let in 48 (excluding own goals) placing him second in Europe for goals prevented.’

But despite the hugely impressive numbers, multiple sources have highlighted Lammens’ lack of experience as a major concern.

The Athletic cited that reason when insisting United’s move for Lammens was viewed as a ‘gamble’ by sources in the industry.

Elsewhere, United legend, Gary Neville has repeatedly claimed playing the goalkeeper position for Man Utd is the toughest and most scrutinised job in English football.

Neville has consistently called for Man Utd to sign a goalkeeper with huge character and personality, such as World Cup winner Martinez.

When Rio Ferdinand was briefed on what United can expect from Lammens by his fellow Belgian, Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid man highlighted Lammens’ inexperience as a worry.

Ferdinand went on to state Man Utd cannot afford to wait for Lammens to develop and instead, require immediate results.

Furthermore, the Daily Mail then revealed newly-promoted pair, Leeds United and Sunderland, had explored the signing of Lammens earlier in the window.

Both clubs chose to swerve the stopper, believing his game was unsuited to English football and thinking Antwerp’s €25m asking price represented a risky overpayment.

Now, pundits Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have also weighed in on Man Utd’s new stopper and once again, his lack of experience – only one full season of Belgian top flight football – was mentioned.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “Manchester United have brought in a goalkeeper, Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp who apparently made more saves than any other goalkeeper last season. That doesn’t always mean what it sounds like it means, they might have just been a bad team at Royal Antwerp.”

Shearer added: “Young for the situation that he has to go into. If he’s going to go straight in there, that’s going to be a big ask for him. What happened to the Emi Martinez deal? I don’t know because he didn’t play the other night, did he?

“Obviously, he didn’t get the move that he wanted. So that’s going to be a big ask for a young goalkeeper to go in there and start and perform.”

Of course, Man Utd could ease Lammens in by selecting Onana or Bayindir for the time being. But with both goalkeepers letting Man Utd down in the early going this season, Lammens may be thrust into the spotlight straight away.

Furthermore, TEAMtalk understands there is a chance Onana is offloaded to Saudi Arabia where the transfer window remains open until September 23.

How Senne Lammens will silence the doubters

Speaking to Man Utd’s official club media, Lammens explained how he intends to block out the noise and ensure he can rise to the occasion despite his inexperience and the overwhelming pressure placed on his shoulders.

”Before and after the game, I just write key words down and my thoughts a little bit,” Lammens said.

“Sometimes, if you don’t do that, it can be a lot going through your mind. It helps me with staying calm and staying in the moment a little bit, and not overreacting in situations.

“I write key words, trigger points. Maybe you’re playing a team who put a lot of pressure on and then you know you don’t have to think a lot during the games, so mentally you’re already ready, already prepared for the game and what it’s going to be like.

“So, when the game comes, you’re not going to be so surprised by it. I think that’s important.”

If Lammens is thrust into the starting eleven straight away, he can expect busy evenings in United’s first two games after the international break.

Man Utd travel to Manchester City on Sunday, September 14, before hosting Chelsea six days later on Saturday, September 20.

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