Manchester United have completed the signing of 23-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.
Keeper nightmare
In the summer of 2023, Erik ten Hag brought in two new keepers, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.
Both players have severely struggled at Old Trafford though with neither convincing they have what it takes to make it at the club.
As a result, United were working on deals for Lammens and Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez but finally chose to pursue the younger Belgian.
Who is he?
The 1.93m keeper was a member of the Club Brugge academy from 2014-2020.
He even managed to score against Real Madrid under-19s in the UEFA Youth League.
Nonetheless, he left Brugge’s academy to join Young Reds Antwerp and finally got his chance in senior football for Royal Antwerp in 2023.
In total he played 63 matches for Den Antwaarp including 30 last season in the league. The Belgian shot stopper only conceded a total of 32 goals and kept seven clean sheets in the process.
Strengths
United Peoples TV has highlighted some of the key strengths United fans can look forward to with their new keeper.
He has a strong record at saving penalties which will be welcome news after United fans had to endure Onana conceding 12 out of 13 attempts against League Two Grimsby Town.
Lammens has saved five out of his last nine penalties, showcasing his height, length and reflexes.
What’s more, the Belgian has excellent reflexes and is generally viewed as a technically sound keeper.
Once again, this stands in contrast to Onana who has faced a barrage of criticism over his understanding of the fundamentals of saving technique and positioning.
The BBC report that “club sources say that in key metrics, such as claimed crosses, shot stopping, preventing goals from rebounds and mistakes, or rather the lack of them, Lammens rates exceptionally highly.”
In addition, “they also say Lammens made more saves than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top 10 leagues and made the most ‘progressive’ passes for any goalkeeper under the age of 23.”
This can be seen in he completed 52.4% of his long ball attempts versus Onana’s 36.6%.
Interestingly, their save percentage is also fundamentally different as Lammens stands on an impressive 81.4%, which puts him in the 98th percentile of keepers in the Belgian Pro League, whilst Onana languishes at 68.9%.
Lammens also shines when it comes to claiming crosses in comparison to United’s Cameroonian as he stops 11.2% of his crosses (94th percentile) whereas Onana only prevents 5.5% of the ones he faces.
Nonetheless, the Belgian has largely only played in the Belgian league so will have faced poorer finishers and a generally lower standard than Onana.
United’s scouts clearly value the underlying data though and this will have played a key role in their decision making.
He has also received high praise from people who know him as Anderlecht’s former goalkeeping coach Frank Boeckx, claimed he could reach the level of legendary Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Not the finished product
It must be stressed to United fans that Lammens is not the complete finished product.
At 23-years-old he is still very young for a keeper, especially at a club like Manchester United.
He can sometimes struggle with high balls, which will be a concern for fans after watching Onana and Bayindir this season.
Nonetheless, this is not down to a lack of ability as he has the technique, height and physicality, all the raw tools needed. It appears he just needs to refine this part of the game, which is normal for a 23-year-old.
Ultimately, he will need patience and will most likely make some errors. His success at the club will be down to how he can handle the pressure of playing in this current United side.
It must also be remembered that whilst Lammens has certainly been bought for the now, he is mainly for the future as the Red Devils look to build a squad capable of winning the league in the next few years.
Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
