Manchester United were scrambling to sign a goalkeeper on deadline day following the mistakes made by both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir this season.
The Cameroonian was at fault as the Red Devils crashed out of the EFL Cup to League Two side Grimsby Town, while the Turk has committed mistakes in all three Premier League games thus far.
Ruben Amorim pushed for Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa, with INEOS initially failing with an audacious loan request.
They returned late in the window, hoping to secure a straight swap deal with Jadon Sancho heading to Villa Park while the Argentine would come to Old Trafford.
Emiliano Martinez to United failed
The fact that he was Premier League proven and had the physicality to command his area had greatly impressed the head coach.
However, Sancho did not agree to move to Birmingham permanently, instead he opted to leave only on loan and that meant the swap deal talks eventually fizzled out.
And United did not have the funds to secure the World Cup winner in a separate deal, and hence, opted to sign Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp instead.
INEOS were more than happy with the deal, with the Belgian a younger player with great resale value whose shot-stopping skills have earned him praise from all quarters.
As for the Argentina international, he remains at Villa Park, even though Unai Emery seems to have other plans for the goalkeeping position. There is interest from Turkiye, and it will be interesting to see if he departs.
Coach on failed transfer
His national team manager Lionel Scaloni was asked about his No.1, and he explained that the 33-year-old was hurt at not being able to secure a dream move to Manchester, but he is in fine spirit having linked up with his international teammates.
“Dibu is fine. His move didn’t go through,” Scaloni was quoted as saying by Ole.
“He was happy for his birthday. Obviously, he was excited to play for Manchester United, but he’s a positive kid who’s thinking about us, and when he returns, he’ll be thinking about his club.
“We’ll wait and see what happens with Dibu. It’s true that we’re interested in him playing, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. I understand that if he stays, he’ll continue to play, but there’s no need to get ahead of himself.”
United fans will be hoping Lammens can hit the ground running, or else INEOS will be grilled on their decision to not go full throttle after the ex-Arsenal ace.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
