Official: Senne Lammens completes Manchester United transfer | OneFootball

Manchester United have officially confirmed the signing of Senne Lammens after the Royal Antwerp goalkeeper completed a medical at Carrington this afternoon and put pen to paper on a five-year contract.

A Safe Pair of Hands

The Red Devils have been on the hunt for a new number one this summer after the disastrous performances of both senior goalkeepers at Old Trafford, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.

Ruben Amorim has favoured Bayindir for the beginning of the new campaign but the Turkey international committed crucial errors against Arsenal and Burnley, while looking extremely shaky versus Fulham.

However, Onana was even worse than his teammate in his only start this season – the humiliating penalty shoot-out loss to League Two Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, which the former Inter Milan star almost single-handedly gifted the Mariners victory in.

There was a desperate need for a new shot stopper to arrive before Monday evening’s deadline slammed shut. And United wasted little time in the final days of the window to ensure one arrived, advancing deals for two options – Lammens and Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez.

Lammens over Martinez

Lammens, 23, has been the goalkeeper United have been most strongly linked to this month after a brilliant campaign in the Jupiler Pro League last season.

The Belgium U-21 international, who drew attention from clubs such as Manchester City, Inter Milan and Galatasaray earlier this summer, is considered one of the premier prospects in goal in European football and a player  highly regarded by scouts at Old Trafford.

But Antwerp were acutely aware of their prodigious talent, and the growing interest in securing him from across the continent, and were intent on securing a club-record fee for him as a result.

United had initially hoped to secure a deal in the region of €20 million (£17m). But the Belgian club, who the Red Devils have a long-standing relationship with, were demanding €25m, with their previous biggest sale being Arthur Vermeeren to Atletico Madrid for €20m in January 2024.

This protracted negotiation led United to revisit a move for Martinez, the 32-year-old World Cup winner with a wealth of Premier League experience. They had tried to sign the Argentina international on loan earlier in the summer but the offer was met with a swift rejection by Villa.

However, a deal quickly advanced this time after United reopened talks, with Martinez communicating his wish to complete a switch to Old Trafford after agreeing personal terms with the Red Devils.

This led Villa manager, Unai Emery, to drop his number one for last night’s clash with Crystal Palace – a match the Villans’ fell to a dismal 3-0 defeat with back-up goalkeeper Marco Bizot making a costly error in – due to the Argentine’s head being turned.

But the transfer market is a brutal place where deals can be on the verge of completion only to vanish from underneath players a moment later – as Martinez will no doubt be acutely aware of tonight.

Despite agreeing a contract with Martinez last night, United wasted no time in advancing a move for Lammens today, striking personal terms with the 23-year-old this morning, before reaching a club-to-club agreement with Antwerp – a deal worth €21m with €4m in add-ons – in the early afternoon.

This effectively ruled out any possibility of Martinez swapping Villa Park for Old Trafford, as well as ending Villa’s own interest in Lammens as an option in goal – a brutal double blow for the Midlands side.

Official Confirmation

Released on the club’s website, United have now confirmed Lammens’ signing on a contract until June 2023, three hours after the 7pm transfer window officially closed.

Tweet: “A warm United welcome to our new goalkeeper: Senne Lammens!”

Lammens has expressed how “proud” he is to become a Red Devil and the excitement he feels at joining the project Amorim is leading at Old Trafford.

“I am extremely proud to be joining Manchester United; it is a real dream come true. The past few years have been an amazing journey; it’s now ended in an incredible destination and hopefully the beginning of something special.

“You can feel the positive atmosphere that is being created here, and I know that I can make a real impact at the club in the coming years. I cannot wait to get to know my team-mates and begin working with Ruben and the coaching staff. This is the perfect place to keep developing, grow together with this exciting team and achieve my career objectives.”

Joining Lammens in the official announcement, sporting director Jason Wilcox stated, “Senne is an excellent young goalkeeper with great potential; we are delighted that he has chosen to join Manchester United after significant interest from a number of clubs.”

Welcome to Manchester Senne!

Feature image Octavio Passos via Getty Images

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