Manchester United have chosen to sign Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens instead of Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez on what’s become a hectic transfer deadline day at Old Trafford
Manchester United moved to address their goalkeeper crisis on deadline day by agreeing to sign Senne Lammens for £18.2million plus add-ons. United decided to recruit a new No.1 after costly mistakes from Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana at the start of the season – with Lammens the preferred choice.
The 23-year-old Belgium youth international travelled to Manchester to complete his move from Royal Antwerp and has agreed a five-year deal with United. United also considered a move for Aston Villa’s 32-year-old keeper, Emiliano Martinez, but decided on Lammens because of his younger profile.
Martinez would also have cost United twice as much as Lammens and would have demanded wages in the region of £200,000-a-week. Against that backdrop, and with United needing to spend cautiously to comply with PSR rules having already spent more than £200m this this summer, Lammens was considered the best option.
There is no sell-on clause in the deal agreed for Lammens, who United view as a goalkeeper who can grow into the role as first-choice and become a mainstay in the team for a number of years. Lammens is set to make his United debut in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium a week on Sunday.
With the arrival of Lammens, United have four senior keepers on their books in Onana, Bayindir and Tom Heaton. Sources close to Onana have said he intends to stay and fight for the No.1 spot which makes it likely Bayindir will go out on loan for the rest of the season or seek a permanent switch.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag brutally sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just TWO league games in chargeREAD MORE: Man Utd deadline day LIVE: Lammens transfer agreed, Martinez news, Antony and Sancho exits imminent
The Turkish shot-stopper started all three of United’s league matches before the international break while Onana was given the Carabao Cup game at Grimsby. Bayindir’s errors at home to Arsenal and Burnley either side of his struggles away to Fulham failed to convince Ruben Amorim that he was good enough to remain No.1 beyond the transfer window.
Meanwhile, Onana had a nightmare against Grimsby Town. The Cameroonian was at fault for the League Two side’s second goal and was weak in the penalty shootout.
After Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Burnley, United’s first win of the season, Amorim launched a passionate defence of his goalkeepers, despite privately seeking a new one. « Guys, they are humans, » the Red Devils boss said.
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« Manchester United, everything is in use. Everybody talks about the goalkeeper. And you can see, I can change the goalkeeper in the situations that happen.
« We are in that moment. I think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment. But if you look at the first goal, we can defend it better. We suffered a quite similar goal against Fulham, because we don’t do the full rotation of the team when the ball is on the other side.
« All these small things have nothing to do with the goalkeeper. So, the players are struggling a little bit with all the things around the club. That is normal. So it’s not just the goalkeepers. I think everybody has to improve. »
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