“In 2019, he first came onto my radar…”: Chief scout explains how United won race for red-hot first-team star

Manchester United’s decision to invest in the relatively unproven Senne Lammens last summer has turned out to be a masterstroke. The Red Devils had suffered due to goalkeeping errors, with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir failing to convince. INEOS invested heavily in the attack last summer, but were also searching for a new goalkeeper. After much speculation, the Premier League giants signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day before offloading Onana on loan to Trabzonspor. Lammens made his debut against Southampton in October last year, marking the occasion with a clean sheet, and has played every game since. The 23 year old has been outstanding between the sticks, pulling off some spectacular saves and already proving that United may have hit the jackpot. Senne Lammens Premier League Stats: 2025/26 Season StatValue Appearances25 Goals Conceded32 Clean Sheets5 Saves Made57 Penalties Faced4 Passes (Completed %)736 (58%) Long Passes (Completed %)456 (32%) Red Cards0 Yellow Cards0 Source: Premier League website.Red Devils chief goalkeeping scout Tony Coton, who played a key role in the Belgian’s arrival at the Theatre of Dreams, has now provided a fascinating insight into the process. A long-term target Speaking on the Inside Carrington podcast, Coton revealed that he had been following Lammens since 2019, during his time as Aston Villa chief scout. He said: “In 2019, he first came onto my radar, at Brugge. I’d seen him play for Belgium Under-17s and we didn’t think it was the right time to do anything. Obviously, he was very raw, so I just followed his progress. We didn’t think he was ready to come to us but we’d just keep abreast of it.” “In fact, I think I was at Aston Villa, when I first found out about him. I was at Villa, as chief scout, and he got brought to my attention. Then, when I came back here (in 2020), I followed him even more. I’ve seen his progress at Brugge and then, obviously, he went to Antwerp. When he breaks in, it was just a matter of how long do you leave it? I watched him in I don’t know how many games over a year.” Coton went on to suggest that even at a young age, Lammens showed signs of greatness. He said: “I saw somebody that loved to protect his goal, defend his goal. I looked at somebody that… it hurt him when a goal went in, you know, it meant something because he conceded. He wasn’t happy.” “Physically, he was good for that age and you’re knowing there’s more to come. So, the first thing was protecting the goal, and then what had come into the game was in-possession. Their in-possession game. Goalkeepers were more required to be playing out from the back and things like that.” “It was just the start of that. I will say, even from an early age, you really have to look at him and analyse him, to see which was his stronger foot. It was looking at that, just monitoring him and following up with my contacts. I would think from an early onset, physically, at his age, he was good in the possession game and had a desire to defend the goal.” A steely focus Last summer, United were heavily linked with Aston Villa’s FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who is proven in the Premier League. However, INEOS sprung a surprise by moving for Lammens instead on Coton’s recommendation. The Red Devils chief scout went on to state that meeting the Belgian in person further convinced him that he was the right man for the job. Coton said: “When we had to present to sign him, obviously, we’d done all the due diligence and everything. And we went to present to him why we think it’s the right time to move, and he had got interest from a lot of clubs in Europe.” “I wanted to see his concentration levels if, when I’m talking, he is looking elsewhere. Is he looking at the video still and this, that and the other? And he was just locked. He was just locked onto me and I’m thinking: ‘Yeah, he’s got a real focus’. And I’d seen that in his game.” Ready for Premier League football It is a testament to Lammens’ abilities that Coton was convinced that he could be thrown straight into action after the move. The chief scout continued: “Coming into the team, they asked me could he go straight into the team and I said: ‘Yes, straight away’. I had to say that anyway because I’d recommended him!” “No, I said I’d got no qualms about him going into the team, if needed, and it came, what, four games [in] maybe and then we played Sunderland and Liverpool and everyone was going ‘wow’. I wasn’t shocked.” “As I say, I do the personality things and he is like his father. His father is so sort of grounded and a lot of dads get carried away with it all. But his father was just really low-key, so it didn’t surprise me he took to it like he’s done.” Tipped to become one of the world’s best Lammens has already convinced fans and pundits that he can be United’s goalkeeper for the next decade. ‘Baby Courtois’ has been compared to club legend Edwin van der Sar, and he has also revealed that he looks up to the Dutchman. Coton believes Lammens still has the scope to improve, but acknowledged that the player has all the tools to become one of the best in the world. He said: “He’s got all the tools. All the tools and he’s got the mental capacity to cope with it, as we’ve seen.” “I don’t want to compare him to anyone. He is Senne Lammens and he is himself. If he keeps working as hard as he is doing and, if we get those little things tidied up, he can be one of the world’s best. I’m sure he can.” Final Thoughts The move for Lammens represents a new shift in United’s transfer strategy, where they are targeting emerging talents with the capability to become world-beaters. Fans will hope that INEOS can repeat the trick with new signings this summer as well. Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.