Senne Lammens’ former coach has detailed an unusual request he made in training that has provided him with the perfect tool at Manchester United.
Manchester United completed four major signings during the summer transfer window, focusing primarily on strengthening their attacking options.
In addition to bolstering the frontline with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Šeško, the Reds also secured the signing of Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.
The 23-year-old had to bide his time before making his first appearance, which eventually came against Sunderland before the international break.
Lammens impressed on his debut, displaying composure and confidence in goal as he helped United earn their first clean sheet of the season.
Lammens made ‘unusual request’ in training
While the two high claims that Lammens made on his debut earned him applause from the Old Trafford crowd, it was his comfortability on the ball which was his most impressive attribute.
The young ‘keeper was more than capable of taking the ball on either foot and clipping a pass into good areas of the pitch. There weren’t any nervy moments in possession, which United fans have gotten used to in recent years.
Lammens’ comfortability with the ball at his feet is partly down to how he developed when he was growing up. His former youth coach, Rik de Mil, explained in a recent interview how the United shot-stopper regularly asked to play outfield during training sessions to improve his footwork.
While it was described as an ‘unusual request’ for a goalkeeper to have during training, it clearly worked for Lammens. “He was sometimes better than some [outfield] players with the ball,” De Mil explained.
Lammens can help United in build-up
On his debut, Lammens showed his ability to launch passes into good areas for the likes of Šeško and Mbeumo to attack. He relieved the backline of pressure.
He is clearly comfortable with the ball and it will be interesting to see how he deals with playing shorter passes when United try and build through the thirds.
Using long balls for the likes of Šeško is a good option to have but Ruben Amorim will also want his team to build from deeper areas more often and a confident goalkeeper can help in that aspect.
That kind of build-up isn’t likely to come often in his next game against Liverpool but it is something to expect from the goalkeeper in the coming weeks and months.
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