Senne Lammens sweating as Man Utd weigh up glitzy new goalkeeper move – sources confirm his ‘head was turned’

Manchester United will decide over the coming weeks and months whether to rekindle their interest in signing Emi Martinez, with the form of Senne Lammens likely to have a big bearing on their thinking in the January window, sources have explained.

United moved to sign Belgian stopper Lammens on transfer deadline day, paying Royal Antwerp £18.1m (€21m, $24m) and on a deal through to summer 2030. That move was triggered after Ruben Amorim had seen enough from Andre Onana and decided once and for all that the costly signing from Inter Milan two summers earlier was simply not up to the levels required.

While Manchester United ultimately plumped for Lammens – who shone on his debut on Saturday and was serenaded by the Old Trafford faithful with a glorious comparison to a legendary star – it could have worked out very differently had the Red Devils instead decided to follow through with their initial interest in Martinez.

The World Cup winner had upset Aston Villa by making it clear he wanted to leave and, with United sounding him out over a move, sources revealed that the player was ready to greenlight the move and was willing to take a salary cut to make the switch to Old Trafford.

However, United decided against the move, owing to three major reasons, and with Lammens the man they chose to sign instead.

Now, despite shining on his debut for United in the 2-0 win over Sunderland at the weekend, speculation over the last few days has suggested Amorim could look to rekindle his interest in signing Martinez in the January window.

Despite that apparent interest, sources insist Amorim and United are still to make up their mind over such a move, despite interest from the Red Devils ‘turning the Aston Villa star’s head’.

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What are sources saying about Man Utd rekindling move for Martinez? 

Much of United’s thinking will depend on how Lammens performs over the intervening weeks and before the January window opens.

With a big test on the horizon away at Liverpool straight after the international break, United and Amorim will soon learn whether Lammens can prove the big-name player they hope he will be.

And if he performs well at Anfield and in the games to follow, Amorim and Co could well be persuaded to put their goalkeeper plans on ice.

Explaining the situation, transfer journalist Dean Jones told TEAMtalk: “We will know soon whether United aim to sign a new goalkeeper in January or summer and that would probably have a bearing on Martinez being an option or not.

“I think the player would have to think very carefully this time around about such a move progressing because he came very close to burning bridges at Villa last time, but had worked his way back in.

“He obviously had his head turned over the summer and I’m sure his camp are very aware that United still plan to bring in another goalkeeper.

“But they will want further competition in the position, but not someone who blocks Lammens.

“So the level they sign someone at is not easy to target. You are asking someone with a good level of experience to come in and be a leader and perhaps even a mentor, but also be in a battle to try to be No.1 too.

“I cannot say for sure that Martinez is the main person they will focus on in this sense, but there is a chance they go for him and it would be a big decision if so.”

Despite that, Jones feels United are not yet ready to pitch their flag entirely in the Lammens camp, though he does feel it is now likely that Altay Bayindir will be seen more infrequently than ever before.

Jones continued: “Lammens is not the guaranteed first-choice goalkeeper for the long run – but he has given himself a chance of being No.1 for the next game. And that’s all he can hope for and focus on right now.

“United seem adamant they are not going to commit to a first-choice stopper, because they want a genuine battle for the shirt on a week-to-week basis.

“It felt like the decision to give Lammens his chance was overdue, and he did well this weekend, so I personally think he has given himself the edge when it comes to starting against Liverpool after the international break.

“But there is no way I would say he’s now going to establish himself as the first choice because I do believe Bayindir will still get games, and I also think United are still on the lookout for another goalkeeper.”

Latest Man Utd news: Amorim still not safe from sack; Scholes makes big Tonali claim

Meanwhile, Amorim has been told he is not yet out of the woods as far as his United future is concerned, with two sources explaining how the axe could have fallen last weekend and with Gary Neville revealing four systematic failures of his reign to date.

With Amorim remaining under pressure despite Saturday’s win, a true legend of the game has made a move towards taking the United job, with the coach, in the words of Fabrizio Romano, “studying the Premier League”.

Elsewhere, United’s failure to press ahead with a move for reported summer target, Sandro Tonali, has come back into view after Paul Scholes made a massive claim about the Newcastle United star and with TEAMtalk analysing whether Christopher Vivell should make a bid for him in 2026.

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