Man Utd red-faced as Amorim is warned of Senne Lammens risk and FIVE basic demands are made

Manchester United have been warned they have taken an almighty risk in signing Senne Lammens and warned he might not be the upgrade on Andre Onana they think he is, while INEOS have also been warned they have blundered badly signing another player who has been cruelly branded a “wet blanket”.

The Red Devils have not had the marked rise in their fortunes they expected since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £1.3bn investment into 27.7% of the club was finalised on February 2024. While they did end that first season winning the FA Cup at Wembley, an unacceptable Premier League campaign then followed, which resulted in Manchester United finishing 15th in the table – their worst-ever finish, and by some distance, in the competition’s history.

Having spent the best part of £400m over their three transfer windows at the helm so far, it’s fair to say Ratcliffe might have expected better for their money, and a lukewarm start to the current season is befitting of a club with a seemingly long road ahead to salvation.

Flop after flop has been shipped out of Old Trafford in recent times, and the latest of those  – Andre Onana – is expected to finalise a season’s loan to Trabzonspor later on Thursday.

However, the man brought in to effectively replace him and handed the gloves as their new No.1, Lammens, is not guaranteed to be a safe pair of hands either.

And pundit Craig Burley feels United have taken another big risk with the Scot naming five ways in which he will need to perform better than his predecessor.

“He looked the real deal when he was in Italy,” Burley told ESPN when discussing Onana. “I thought he was going to come in and have a Schmeichel-esque aura about him. Remember, he was bossing about Harry Maguire, and he had a go at him.

“If this young lad from Belgium comes in and is flapping about all over the place, it’s going to be a mess, isn’t it? Altay Bayindir, they can’t play him. He might be okay at shot-stopping, but he’s absolutely useless at balls into the box.

“The lad who has come in [Lammens] needs to be able to communicate, marshal a back four, be good with the ball at his feet, make saves, and he needs to have authority and make a statement when teams are rattling the ball into the box. That is what every team will do now, they’re going to pile it on into this goalkeeper.

“He’s going to sink or swim. They went halfway down the road to [Emi] Martinez at Villa, and I think that would have been the perfect scenario because he’s got arrogance. But they’ve gone the other route again, and we’ve no idea how the young lad is going to handle the scenario.”

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Man Utd star destroyed and branded a ‘wet blanket’

Lammens is not the only recent signing made by INEOS that has come under the spotlight, with Burley also taking an extremely dim view of the performances of Manuel Ugarte.

The Uruguayan cost a hefty €60m (£50m, $69m) package when joining from PSG in summer 2024, but has rarely been consistent and never really looked worthy of the cash splashed on him.

Having now fallen down the pecking order behind both Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro for a spot in United’s midfield, Ugarte’s future at Old Trafford could potentially soon come under the spotlight, with the 33-times capped Uruguay star falling below expectations.

Mercilessly dubbing him a ‘wet blanket’, Burley did not hold back in a scathing assessment of the 24-year-old.

“Manuel Ugarte is just absolutely nothing. He’s just like a wet blanket. Put him in with the kids and even the kids would be going, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ Seriously.”

The arrival of Amorim as United boss was expected to kickstart a return to form for Ugarte, but there has been no evidence of that so far.

He was brought to Old Trafford by the club’s former sporting director, Dan Ashworth, who felt at the time the club prised an elite star away from the Parisian giants.

“Signing Manuel was another of our primary targets for this summer,” Ashworth said upon Ugarte’s arrival in August 2024.

“He is among the very best ball-winning midfield players in the world and has an excellent record at both club and international level. His qualities, experience and passion will be a great complement to our strong group of midfielders.”

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Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo has reportedly handed United a ‘play me or let me leave’ ultimatum amid new details of a move he agreed to make earlier this summer, while sources have told TEAMtalk why the Red Devils remain fully committed to the player and are backing him to revive his career at Old Trafford.

Elsewhere, the quest for United to return among the Premier League forces has zeroed in on the engine room, with sources confirming to TEAMtalk the club’s intent to bolster their midfield with TWO high-profile signings – and Amorim and Co already know the dream duo, rated at a combined £160m, they would love to sign.

And finally, a second source has strongly suggested it’s game over for an all-time great at Manchester United, and no fewer than FIVE clubs are already eyeing a 2026 swoop.

Man Utd’s ‘wet blanket’ – How Ugarte compares over the last two seasons