{"id":233880,"date":"2025-10-18T12:25:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T12:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233880\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T12:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T12:25:15","slug":"senne-lammens-man-united-mission-inside-his-rapid-rise-why-he-trains-in-midfield-scoring-goals-past-real-madrid-power-programme-that-brought-out-his-fire-1am-gym-sessions-economics-and-his","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233880\/","title":{"rendered":"Senne Lammens’ Man United mission: Inside his rapid rise, why he trains in midfield, scoring goals past Real Madrid, ‘power programme’ that brought out his ‘fire’, 1am gym sessions, economics and his long list of pre-match superstitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a quarter of a century has passed since Massimo Taibi marked his Manchester United<\/a> debut with a man of the match performance against Liverpool<\/a> at Anfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018It was fantastic,\u2019 Taibi tells\u00a0Daily Mail Sport, admitting to surprise that many fans also remember his role in a 3-2 win, given what came shortly after.\u00a0\u2018Playing in Liverpool was difficult but fascinating. I made three or four really beautiful saves.\u2019<\/p>\n

The good times didn\u2019t last long for United\u2019s erratic Italian goalkeeper though; two weeks later a tame effort from Southampton<\/a>\u2019s Matt Le Tissier squirmed agonisingly under his body and through his legs.\u00a0Harshly dubbed ‘The Blind Venetian’ by one tabloid, he only played one more game for the club.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s latest No 1 will head to Anfield for his first away game on Sunday hoping the excitement over his debut doesn\u2019t turn sour quite so quickly.<\/p>\n

After a commanding performance in the 2-0 win over Sunderland<\/a> at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, the United fans serenaded Senne Lammens with a chorus of \u2018Are you Schmeichel in disguise?\u2019.<\/p>\n

A clean sheet at home to one of the newly promoted clubs really shouldn\u2019t be a cause for celebration at United, but it was the manner of Lammens\u2019 shutout that has created optimism.<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens gave a commanding performance in United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford a fortnight ago<\/p>\n

\"United <\/p>\n

United fans serenaded Lammens with a chorus of \u2018Are you (Peter) Schmeichel in disguise?\u2019<\/p>\n

The Belgian quietly demonstrated the skills that persuaded United to abandon a move for Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emi Martinez and sign Lammens from Royal Antwerp: a superb shot-stopper who is good with both feet, bold at coming out to claim high balls, and remarkably cool for a man of 23.<\/p>\n

After the unpredictability of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, here was the goalkeeping equivalent of doing what it said on the tin.<\/p>\n

It has been quite a rise for the boy from Zottegem, East Flanders who only became Antwerp\u2019s first-choice last season and has yet to win a Belgium senior cap. Last season he made 173 saves, more than any other goalkeeper in Europe\u2019s 10 leagues, a joint-top four penalty saves, and the most progressive passes of any keeper under the age of 23.<\/p>\n

Peter Schmeichel, for his part, admitted he had never heard of him, and warned against putting too much stock by statistics achieved in the Belgian top flight. The Dane would have preferred United to have signed Martinez or Gianluigi Donnarumma, who went to Manchester City for \u00a326million.<\/p>\n

As it was, United juggled Martinez and Lammens up until deadline day when the latter got the nod and jumped on a private jet from Antwerp to complete a deal worth an initial \u00a318.2m.<\/p>\n

After Onana was shipped out on loan to Trabzonspor and Bayindir started the first six league games, a carefully planned debut thrust Lammens into the limelight. It appears he is now United\u2019s No 1.<\/p>\n

\u2018I want a goalkeeper to have presence, commanding with authority,’ former United defender Phil Jones tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘He absolutely oozed all of that against Sunderland. You look at him and think, \u201chow are they getting past him?\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018You talk about Anfield, but to play for United in your first game at Old Trafford is not easy, no matter who you\u2019re playing against. There are no concerns from what I\u2019ve seen.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Harry <\/p>\n

Harry Maguire congratulates Lammens on another fine stop during United’s victory over Sunderland<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At United, they are impressed by how calmly Lammens is taking it all in stride<\/p>\n

At United, they are impressed by how calmly Lammens is taking it all in stride. He has settled well and moved into a new house after several weeks in a city centre hotel.<\/p>\n

Lammens has asked to come into Carrington on days off for extra sessions, and takes detailed notes after games and training. Those traits are familiar to those who’ve helped shape his career at Antwerp and Club Brugge.<\/p>\n

Brian Vandenbussche, his goalkeeper coach at Antwerp, recalls Lammens being on the bench for an away game and hitting the gym as soon as he got back to the club at 1am.<\/p>\n

\u2018It wasn\u2019t even the first-team fitness centre, it was the youth team,\u2019 says Vandenbussche. \u2018That\u2019s Senne. He is a very nice guy but sometimes he needs his own time. He was really disappointed that he didn\u2019t play – Senne had a mission to succeed.\u2019<\/p>\n

Rik De Mil, his assistant manager at Club Brugge and previously his youth-team coach there, has a similar story about sleeping at the training ground one night and seeing Lammens going into the gym just before midnight.<\/p>\n

\u2018He is incredibly motivated and ambitious,\u2019 says De Mil. \u2018He worked day and night to achieve his goals. The Premier League was his dream, but we also had a lot of conversations about balance.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sometimes he wanted to take the steps too fast, and he was a bit afraid that it wouldn\u2019t happen as fast as he thought it would.\u2019<\/p>\n

Both men are well accustomed to Lammens\u2019 superstitious nature. As well as a meticulous pre-match preparation, it includes forbidding anyone from mentioning a clean sheet.<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens in action for Royal Antwerp where he had to bide his time before breaking into the first team<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens has been coming into Carrington for extra training session on his days off which has impressed United staff<\/p>\n

\"He <\/p>\n

He made the most saves in Europe’s top 10 leagues last season<\/p>\n

\u2018According to him, that brings bad luck,\u2019 says his older brother Tom, a striker in the Belgian third division. \u2018I don’t send anything to Senne before the match about clean sheets.\u2019<\/p>\n

Vandenbussche, a former goalkeeper himself, agrees. \u2018I didn\u2019t like it either. You jinx it,\u2019 he says. ‘I know it\u2019s superstition, but don\u2019t do it. Senne has things he does in a specific order before his warm-up. He always wanted me to stand ready before he went out. He did a fist bump with the other two goalkeepers and with me, that was important to him.<\/p>\n

\u2018Also before the game, he went back to the bench because he needed me to give the drink bottles to him. He did it for me to give him the last couple of words of advice.\u2019<\/p>\n

De Mil encountered similar at Brugge. \u2018He had a thing with his water bottle being on the same side of the goal. He’s superstitious. He prepares always the same way. He also really wants to know everything about the opponent; the strikers, the corners, free-kicks, penalties, how many times an opponent shoots with his left or right foot.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a dedication to his craft that has convinced De Mil it\u2019s only a matter of time before Lammens succeeds Thibaut Courtois as Belgium\u2019s No 1.<\/p>\n

\u2018There’s no doubt,’ says De Mil. ‘He has made a huge step now at Manchester United at a young age. If he can handle the pressure, which I think he will, there will be a moment that Courtois gets a bit older and then Lammens will be ready.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lammens started out as a striker in junior football with RC Bambrugge and FCV Dender before going in goal at the age of 10.\u00a0Two years later, he was signed up by Brugge, but never lost his ability with the ball at his feet \u2013 or on his head for that matter, venturing upfield to nod a late equaliser against Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League in 2019.<\/p>\n

\"'Lammens <\/p>\n

‘Lammens is incredible with his feet. He can put the ball wherever he wants,\u2019 says his old coach Rik De Mil<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens celebrates after a penalty save for Antwerp last season – he made four in all in the Belgian top flight in 2024-25, the joint-most in Europe’s top 10 leagues<\/p>\n

\u2018He is incredible with his feet. He can put the ball wherever he wants,\u2019 says De Mil, now in charge of Sporting Charleroi in the top flight. \u2018You cannot press him on his left or right because he is so two-footed.<\/p>\n

\u2018He loved playing possession games in training. Sometimes he played in midfield. There are a lot of players who don\u2019t have the feet he has, and there were moments when he played better than some academy players.<\/p>\n

\u2018As for his goalkeeper skills, the way he makes saves is good. But it is more the proactive side. He plays very far out of his goal. He takes crosses and long balls and it looks so easy, but it\u2019s because of his starting position.\u2019<\/p>\n

Most of all, De Mil admired Lammens\u2019 down-to-earth character and strong mentality as he fought for a youth-team spot and was then restricted to just four senior appearances behind former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. They are qualities De Mil believes Lammens inherited from his parents.<\/p>\n

\u2018Absolutely. Two hard-working, great people. Very normal and humble,\u2019 he recalls. \u2018We live in a world of agents where they put players under pressure, and the parents get nervous. If Senne didn\u2019t play, they were always respectful, asking what he could do better, not being negative of the club or coaches.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the academy at Brugge, you see a lot of talent but the difference then is mentality. Somebody eager to work, wanting to improve. When you have skills like he has and the mentality to work, then you have a really big talent.<\/p>\n

\u2018When he was behind Mignolet, he had moments of doubt which is normal for a young talent. When he made a mistake, he put more pressure on himself. Over the years he developed into somebody who can handle this pressure. When he makes a mistake, he just continues. He has grown a lot in this.<\/p>\n

\u2018A big strength is that outside the pitch he’s calm. He doesn\u2019t do stupid things. He\u2019s an atypical footballer. Feet on the ground.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At Club Brugge, Lammens had ‘his feet on the ground, he was humble,’ says his then coach De Mil. ‘He wanted to improve and develop’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens signs for Manchester United on deadline day for \u00a318.2m plus \u00a33.5m in potential add-ons\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lammens doesn’t watch much football in his spare time, preferring US sports like the NFL and NBA and is a big fan of LA Lakers and LeBron James. \u2018Sometimes footballers are in their own bubble but he’s interested in life,’ says De Mil. ‘We used to talk about economics. He’s devoted to football but he likes to talk about other things.\u2019<\/p>\n

Having grown frustrated at seeing his path blocked by Mignolet at Brugge, Lammens moved to Antwerp on a free in 2023 but found himself stuck as No 2 again when Jean Butez stayed at the club unexpectedly, despite Lammens having been signed as his replacement. Vandenbussche felt the new boy was too quiet and needed to develop a more dominant personality. He got to work \u2018bringing the fire\u2019 out.<\/p>\n

\u2018We knew Senne was all-around 193cm and 96kg, and enormously explosive for his height. That for me is good,\u2019 says Vandenbussche.<\/p>\n

\u2018The only thing I saw was the calmness. I didn\u2019t know back then if this was a quality or something to work on. In the end it was actually both.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the beginning he was very quiet. I was like, \u201ccome on Senne show me personality\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018I had to push it out of him. \u201cHow far do you want to go? Do you want to go to the Premier League or to a top team in Turkey for example?\u201d I said I think he could go all the way.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was so calm. I said I\u2019m going to bring the fire to him in training. To be vocal. He became more of a leader in the group. He was opening his mouth in the locker room, and more and more we saw the guy we wanted to see.<\/p>\n

\u2018His face when he stopped his first penalty for Antwerp (from Gent\u2019s Andri Gudjohnsen) last season, he made this beast expression, like he was a monster. I said, \u201cSenne we have to see this guy at every training and every game\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018We made a video of him with a compilation of his work. The screaming and the appreciation of the players when Senne is on fire, he\u2019s unstoppable. That\u2019s the Senne I wanted to see, and that was my goal.<\/p>\n

\u2018I made two or three videos, just when I thought it was time to give him something extra. I don\u2019t know if he still uses them, but in the beginning it helped him to search for that fire that I wanted.\u2019<\/p>\n

Vandenbussche asked Antwerp\u2019s performance coach Thomas Carpels to put Lammens through a personalised goalkeeper power programme; boxing, a reactionary light board for his reflexes, a co-ordination ladder to improve his footwork, long hours in the gym working on his foot power.<\/p>\n

\u2018You saw him changing,\u2019 says Vandenbussche. \u2018After one year, Manchester United were interested and now he\u2019s theirs. Fantastic.<\/p>\n

\u2018I had a feeling when I read about United. I tried to avoid that conversation a lot, and then I said: \u201cLook Senne, if something is really concrete, we can talk about it, but otherwise keep your focus.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u2018Even in these days that he knew United were interested, you could see the stable guy. He just kept on doing his thing until the club said he couldn\u2019t play anymore. Now it\u2019s time to perform at United and just let him go.<\/p>\n

\u2018I sent him a message saying, I had a feeling he was going to play against Sunderland, and he replied, \u201cyes, I\u2019m going to start\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Altay <\/p>\n

Altay Bayindir started the first six league games for United but did not cover himself in glory while Lammens watched on before making his carefully planned debut\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Error-prone <\/p>\n

Error-prone Andre Onana was unable to nail down the goalkeeping position at United and has now been loaned out to Turkish club Trabzonspor\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lammens <\/p>\n

Lammens has already supplanted Bayindir and will now head to Anfield for his first away match as United’s No 1<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not the way he made fantastic saves in his first game, I have seen him make saves twice as hard 10 times. It\u2019s the way he dominated, that’s the biggest compliment I can give.\u00a0He is 23 but looks like he’s been in goal there for two years.\u2019<\/p>\n

Still, Anfield is a far cry from Antwerp, and Liverpool are a different proposition to Lokeren. There isn\u2019t a tougher environment for a United keeper.<\/p>\n

Twenty-six years on, Taibi speaks from experience. \u2018He is a reactive goalkeeper,’ says the 55-year-old, now director of football at Pistoiese in Italy’s Serie D. ‘He seems very calm and this is an important quality.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018He is a strong goalkeeper, so don\u2019t try to prove yourself or overdo it. My advice is to be yourself and try to do things simply.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a quarter of a century has passed since Massimo Taibi marked his Manchester United debut with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[98,399,3450,3788,1084,403,1079,99],"class_list":["post-233880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-dailymail","tag-football","tag-liverpool","tag-manchester-united","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}