Manchester United have reached a ‘total agreement’ to sign Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp, according to David Ornstein.
The Red Devils will pay £18.2 million to Royal Antwerp to finalise the deal, with Lammens now flying over to Manchester to undergo his medical before putting pen to paper on a five-year contract at Old Trafford.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Manchester United reach total agreement with Royal Antwerp to sign Senne Lammens. Deal for 23yo #RoyalAntwerp goalkeeper worth €21m + add-ons. No sell-on. 5yr terms. Belgium int’l flying in to complete #MUFC #DeadlineDay move @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/8GNsRvaqMF
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) September 1, 2025
United push for late ‘keeper signing and secure Senne Lammens coup
Despite United maintaining throughout the summer that a new goalkeeper would not be pursued unless Andre Onana was sold, they were prompted to reconsider their stance in the aftermath of error-plagued displays from both Onana and Altay Bayindir in the first matches of the campaign.
Onana conceded twice and let in 12 penalties as United exited the Carabao Cup to League Two outfit Grimsby Town last week. Meanwhile, Bayindir, who has started all three Premier League matches up to the international break, came under fire after gameweek one for being too weak for Arsenal’s early corner that led to Riccardo Calafiori scoring the only goal of the game.
He subsequently conceded another goal in the 1-1 draw with Fulham and a further two in the weekend’s 3-2 win over Burnley, which may well have marked his final top-flight appearance for the club.
INEOS opted for Lammens over Emiliano Martinez
On Sunday, United stepped up their efforts to sign a ‘keeper by agreeing personal terms with Emiliano Martinez, who was actively pushing to make the switch from Aston Villa – so much so that he was left out of Unai Emery’s squad for their clash against Crystal Palace last night.
Yet, they’ve now determined that Lammens, 23, is a more suitable fit than the 32-year-old Villa veteran, hence making a formal bid for the Belgian international.
This keeper may be a good upgrade on what we have at present but the most urgent upgrade needed is the upgrade on the manager and shockingly nothing is being done about that.
Lammens looks like he’ll develop into something quite good (but we’ve said that before). At least he has strong fundamentals already, though he also has recognised weaknesses at the moment. The smart strategy would have been to build up his experience so he could challenge Onana but given Onana’s failures I’d say Lammens will be on a faster track.
That is, unless we sign both Martinez and Lammens – Martinez for one season as an established no 1 and Lammens to develop into a no 1 by season’s end. Than I’d sell both Onana and Bayindir – Onana to Saudi and Bayindir to Turkiye before their respective windows close. That’s if it were affordable and up to me. However, the club has made it clear they’ll only sign one keeper.