It’s no secret that Manchester United have struggled in the goalkeeper department since David de Gea’s departure in the summer of 2023.
Andre Onana, once hailed as the next great shotstopper at Old Trafford, fell wildly short of expectations following his move from Inter Milan.
Now, it remains to be seen whether new signing Senne Lammens could be the man to restore some faith in the position.
Altay Bayindir continues to worry in goal for Man Utd
You can absolutely sympathise with the decision to avoid lumping the Belgian in between the sticks in one of the biggest games in United’s calendar: the Manchester derby.
However, in the meantime, Red Devils fans will be forced to grin and bear their way through 90 minutes with Altay Bayindir in goal.
The 27-year-old Turk isn’t a totally inept shotstopper, however, in a similar vein to Onana, he’s prone to some heart-in-the-mouth errors.
Take, for instance, his bizarrely heavy touch eight minutes into the first half, which came close to gifting a lurking Erling Haaland an easy opener.
“A really poor touch. When the ball is coming to you, you have got to take the pace out of it,” the former Manchester United man was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport).
Footage shared on X (formerly Twitter) by @MUFCDarren_ (courtesy of NBC Sports on Peacock) showcased the heart-rate-raising moment.
WTF ALTAY BAYINDIR ??? pic.twitter.com/qlrq5oEGsu
— Darren (@MUFCDarren_) September 14, 2025
Bayindir not at fault for Erling Haaland’s Man City goal
If we’re being extremely harsh, you could argue that Bayindir should have set himself up better to prepare for Phil Foden’s headed goal.
The shotstopper certainly was far from central between the sticks before Jeremy Doku’s lofted cutback found his teammate in the 18-yard box.
Phil Foden lights up the Etihad in the derby! 💥 pic.twitter.com/L1zRMuATsp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 14, 2025
The simple fact of the matter is that we can, once again, blame some below par defending as the major contributing factor behind Ruben Amorim’s men going 1-0 down in the opening 18 minutes.
Again, though, it doesn’t necessarily help that Manchester United can seemingly never rely on their number one when called upon in crucial moments.
Do we have an Alisson Becker or a Jordan Pickford to bail us out? Far from it.
Here’s hoping that Lammens could be a potential game-changer for us this season.
