Manchester United has a long history of elite level goalkeepers. Peter Schmeichel is widely considered the best shot-stopper of the Premier League era. Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea are also up there having occupied the goal at Old Trafford for a long time. Senne Lammens is the latest United number one.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Belgian was a relative unknown. Manchester United signed Lammens in the summer transfer window only when it became apparent Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana were not good enough to start for the duration of the 2025/26 season. He was the contingency plan.
Now, Lammens’ signing looks like being one of the best pieces of business conducted by a Premier League club this season. The 23-year-old has impressed as Manchester United’s starting goalkeeper with his performance in the 1-0 win over Everton his best display in the English top flight to date.
Lammens handled everything Everton threw at him. The Toffees put the Belgian under serious pressure from set pieces, crowding the six-yard box at every opportunity. Lammens, however, was comfortable enough coming for crosses, also making a number of eye-catching saves to keep a clean sheet.
It’s not just that Lammens is playing well as an individual, it’s that he is giving the defenders in front of him more confidence. Bayindir and Onana were both chaotic players and that nervousness would transmit into the Manchester United team as a whole. Lammens, on the other hand, is calm and composed beyond his years.
“For me a goalkeeper has to be reliable, be trustworthy,” said Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick after the crucial 1-0 win over Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. “Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne does that.”
Opposition manager David Moyes also had praise for Lammens. “The goalie was bloody brilliant,” said the Everton boss. “The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with the corners. We hoped somewhere we’d have got…one of them with the pressure we had in those situations. I thought we would get one, but we didn’t. For me he was the best player on the pitch.”
Manchester United is mounting an unexpected challenge for Champions League qualification and Lammens is a big part of this effort. The 23-year-old is getting better and better and is now receiving widespread acclaim for the way he has strengthened United in the defensive line.
United’s recruitment staff also deserve some credit for unearthing Lammens. Costing a reported $25m, the Belgian now looks a bargain. Manchester United’s transfer strategy hasn’t always been the sharpest in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson age, but the addition of Lammens was an extremely shrewd move.
