Manchester United are preparing to announce the arrival of what’s likely to be their final acquisition of the summer, Senne Lammens.
Indeed, the Red Devils have agreed an £18.2 million deal to sign Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day, with the shot-stopper now joining Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha as Ruben Amorim’s squad reinforcements this window.
He’ll be hoping that Lammens can transition to his setup as seamlessly as Cunha and Mbeumo did. That being said, he is making the switch from a completely different league like Sesko, so fans have to allow for some adjustment time, given that the Premier League is undoubtedly the most competitive in Europe.
Adding such a highly-rated ‘keeper to the ranks at Old Trafford will also perhaps make United, for the first time in a long time, the favourites heading into fixtures, especially if their frontline can shape up and not squander so many chances. For supporters, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on your favourite sports betting platform to see how the odds are anticipating the Reds to fare as soon as club action resumes.
United opt for late goalkeeper swoop
Nonetheless, United’s pursuit of Lammens came at the end of a summer in which they’d consistently maintained that no goalkeeper signing was on the cards unless Andre Onana was sold.
Then, lacklustre performances from both Onana and Altay Bayindir, the latter of which has trumped the Cameroonian to become Amorim’s No.1, prompted INEOS to act on the market before it was too late.
The board stepped up their efforts to find a suitable replacement on Sunday by agreeing personal terms with Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. He was keen to join United, so much so that he was left out of Unai Emery’s matchday squad for their clash at home to Crystal Palace last night.
It was then up to the key decision-makers in M16 whether they followed through with their approach for Martinez by submitting a formal bid, or take a chance on a younger alternative such as Lammens and hope he can occupy the role between the sticks for years to come.
Alas, they favoured the 23-year-old Belgian, and he swiftly boarded a flight to Manchester to undergo his medical before putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.
Yet to make his senior debut for Belgium, Lammens has not been called up to the national team for their forthcoming fixtures, meaning he can stay at Carrington and get to grips with his new teammates before United travel to face arch-rivals Manchester City on September 14.
