Senne Lammens: From £18m Gamble to Manchester United’s No.1
Manchester United’s 25/26 campaign had its problems, but one story cut through the noise: Senne Lammens.
When INEOS sanctioned an initial £18 million deal to bring the Belgian goalkeeper from Royal Antwerp, the move barely registered outside scouting circles. He arrived without fanfare, behind Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir in the pecking order, and into a position that had become a weekly headache. United needed calm. They got Lammens.
The 24-year-old imposed order on a chaotic department. As Onana and Bayindir faltered, Lammens seized his chance and never really loosened his grip. By the end of his first season, he had not only nailed down the starting spot at Old Trafford but also forced his way into Belgium’s World Cup squad.
World Cup dream turns sour
On the biggest stage, though, the script turned brutally.
Thibaut Courtois started every game for Belgium at the World Cup, the undisputed first choice. Then came the quarter-final against Spain and a cruel twist: Courtois picked up an injury, and the door swung open for United’s new No.1. This was Lammens’ moment, the one every goalkeeper imagines.
It unravelled in seconds.
Late in the game, Pau Cubarsí let fly from distance. It should have been routine. Instead, Lammens spilled the shot, and Mikel Merino reacted first, prodding home an 88th-minute winner that sent Spain through and Belgium out.
The reaction back home was unforgiving. Belgian fans were stunned, the national media scathing. For Lammens, it was the kind of mistake that can cling to a goalkeeper for years.
United close ranks – and see something different
Inside Manchester United, the response was very different.
The club has lived this story before: World Cup errors, public pile-ons, players broken by the noise. Staff were ready with support mechanisms, prepared to help Lammens through the fallout. They expected a shaken goalkeeper walking back into Carrington.
They got the opposite.
According to a report in The Sun, United insiders have been struck by how composed the Belgian has been since returning to club duty. One senior club source described Lammens, who has now inherited the number one shirt after Altay Bayindir’s departure on loan, as “excellent”.
The feeling within the club is that the World Cup howler hasn’t damaged him. It has sharpened him.
Response on the pitch
The evidence is already there.
United’s Premier League start has been mixed, but Lammens’ performances have not. In the defeat to Hull City, he emerged as one of the few positives, producing a string of strong saves to keep the scoreline respectable. Against Ipswich Town, he again delivered when it mattered, making key stops that underpinned a far more solid team display.
The pressure that crushed him for Belgium seems to have hardened him for United.
From an £18 million question mark to a goalkeeper the club now trusts implicitly, Lammens has turned a World Cup nightmare into fuel. The number one shirt is his. The real test is how far he can run with it.
