Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim handed a debut to goalkeeper Senne Lammens for the visit of Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
Senne Lammens pictured in action for Manchester United against Sunderland(Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)
Manchester United supporters have needed to wait patiently to see their new goalkeeper from Royal Antwerp debut between the sticks.
Sometimes such a wait can disappoint but thankfully for United and Senne Lammens, this was not one of those occasions. The Belgian replaced Altay Bayindir in goal and impressed the fans in attendance.
A couple of smart saves here, commanding the box there and United’s new man managed to secure himself a clean sheet on debut. As he closed in on this accomplishment, the Stretford End chose to serenade him with the tune: “Are you [Peter] Schmeichel in disguise?”
Undoubtedly that will give Lammens a lift moving forwards but interestingly, the choice of chant taught us two things about the current goalkeeper situation. First and foremost, it was evidence of the competent display that the 23-year-old produced.
As mentioned, he did not have to do anything too flashy to grab the headlines. He was confident, despite the pressured circumstances of his debut and that managed to filter out to the defenders in front of him and the fans behind him.
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But perhaps the more damning thing we were taught is just how starved this United crowd has been of a competent goalkeeper. When David de Gea left United in 2023, there was sadness at seeing him leave in such an undignified manner but few would have argued that it was the wrong call.
De Gea was making some basic errors towards the end of his tenure at the club and there was an acceptance that he needed to be replaced. It was only thanks to the benefit of hindsight that we can say today that Erik ten Hag made an error replacing him.
Andre Onana, on paper, was the right man to replace De Gea. He joined off the back of a Champions League final finish with Inter and his arrival promised to allow Ten Hag to play his natural style.
Peter Schmeichel celebrates whilst goalkeeper for Manchester United(Image: Daily Mirror)
Instead, United regressed with Onana as first-choice and the Cameroonian was seemingly blocked from playing out from the back to his defenders – the whole reason he was considered to be the top target for United in the summer of 2023. It was not all bad under Onana, he did make some good saves, but he lacked consistency and was largely incompetent at times for the Reds.
Bayindir has suffered his own struggles with the weight of that shirt too. That is arguably not his fault as he was brought in as a back-up, not to uproot Onana.
But comparing Lammens to Schmeichel after one good display, paints its own picture for United. The Reds have been crying out for just a steady goalkeeper to instill confidence and the early signs suggest they have just found that man.
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