Manchester United’s new goalkeeper Senne Lammens has explained why he is completely different to the club’s existing shot-stoppers, André Onana and Altay Bayındır.
Despite strengthening their attack with the arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Šeško, Manchester United’s defensive issues remain a pressing concern.
Goalkeepers Altay Bayındır and André Onana have both been guilty of costly mistakes, pushing the club to look for a new option between the posts.
United ultimately struck a deal with Royal Antwerp for Belgian shot-stopper Senne Lammens, agreeing an initial £18 million fee for the 23-year-old, who was preferred over Aston Villa’s Emi Martínez.
Lammens completed his medical at Carrington, signed a long-term contract, and was officially announced as a United player on Monday evening as the transfer window closed.
Lammens explained why he’s completely different to United goalkeepers
One of the problems with Onana and Bayındır hasn’t necessarily been their ability but instead the way they cannot provide calmness to their backline.
Even when the mistakes are not there, it rarely feels like either goalkeeper are calm between the sticks. The Europa League final is a good example.
In that game, Onana didn’t make any awful mistakes before Tottenham’s goal but there were moments where he was clearly not calm and that impacted the backline.
Lammens has explained previously that he is a very calm figure and maintains that calmness on the pitch. Some suggest players like this don’t care but he he believes it is a positive for his defenders.
“My neutral expression apparently also comes across as if I don’t care or I’m not engaged with other people,” he recent said, as per MailSport. “It’s true that I’m someone who is very focused on myself, but it’s not as bad as it seems.
“They always say that in terms of emotions, I remain on the same level. I’m stable and never go very high or very low. I’m actually glad about that. I think it’s a good quality for a goalkeeper.
“You must maintain calm to give your defenders and the rest of the team confidence. It’s not the intention to be stressing while standing between the posts.”
Lammens will have to deal with mistakes
The real test for Lammens will come when his first mistake between the sticks at Old Trafford comes. It is unfortunately inevitable for a goalkeeper.
It happened for Peter Schmeichel, it happened for Edwin van der Sar. Whether it is on his debut, 10 games in or next season, Lammens will make a big error and United will concede a goal and potentially lose a game.
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All attention will be on him and then we will see how calm he is able to remain in such situations. Gary Neville has labelled United’s goalkeeper as the hardest position in world football.
David de Gea went through those difficulties in the early stages of his United career when he came into the team as a young, unproven goalkeeper. He was able to deal with those mistakes and become one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
If he is able to retain that calmness and react positively when mistakes come, Lammens could become a success at Old Trafford.
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