United already have the formula for successful transfer signings

Manchester United’s Senne Lammens was named transfer signing of the season after what was a thoroughly impressive debut campaign. The Belgian has looked like the most assured goalkeeper since David de Gea’s time at the club, making his debut against Sunderland back in October and not looking back since. At a club like United, it’s almost a good thing to not have to talk about a goalkeeper as it normally means they’re doing a good job and staying out of the limelight for the wrong reasons. However, in this instance, it’s a big positive to be speaking about Lammens and not just because of his performances. Big win, small fee The Red Devils purchased him for a cheap fee, from a ‘smaller’ league, with seemingly little to no competition or fanfare. And yet, he’s proven to be an astute buy which is no mean feat when he’s up against the successful purchases of Mattheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko. In fact, the club should go as far as making Lammens the model type of transfer they should be making moving forward. The 23 year old is in the right age bracket, his statistics suggested he’d be a good fit, and he was scouted thoroughly with glowing reviews. What’s not to like? Don’t repeat history In previous years, Manchester United would have gone for the statement signing, expensive and hurting their wage structure. Often buying for buying’s sake in the hope this signing will finally be the one to put an end to the post-Sir Alex Ferguson failures. Lammens represents a shift in strategy and one the club should lean into even more – narrow players down by profile and character, study the stats, send in scouts to watch them over months, and finally when it’s right, strike. If United can do this with a proper strategy with respects to overall squad building, their wait for the Premier League title won’t last much longer. The only embarrassing thing here is Old Trafford are behind every other club that’s already been doing this for years. The Red Devils would see their quality improve drastically without hurting their wallets or upsetting any type of wage structure. Trust the experts This also leaves them the opportunity to make the statement signings when it’s the right time and fit, not sporadically or in a scattergun type of way. More importantly than all, Lammens was signed over Emiliano Martinez who was put forward by Ruben Amorim – oh how things could have gone wrong. That’s not to say Martinez definitely would’ve been a failure at the club but he’s now 33, would’ve been expensive to buy as his contract runs out in 2029, and he almost certainly would’ve demanded a big payday. Lammens has so far proven to be a shrewd buy and should be the standard for the club moving forward so they can enjoy further success in this transfer window and beyond. Anything less leaves us in the vicious cycle of our past mistakes and failures. 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