The summer signing has shone for Man Utd during his first two starts for the club.
Of all the signings Manchester United made in the summer transfer window, none arrived with quite as much intrigue as Senne Lammens. United could be be pretty certain what they were getting with Premier League-proven duo Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, while Benjamin Sesko has been tracked by several top clubs in recent years.
Lammens though was a bit of an enigma. The 23-year-old had a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in Belgian football, but has never made a senior appearance for the national side and it was very difficult to gauge just how a star at Royal Antwerp would cope at English football royalty. Based on his first two appearances, you would trust him to protect the crown jewels.
The Belgian shot-stopper shone on his debut against Sunderland earlier in the month, though his performance was perhaps elevated by a fanbase that needed a new hero in goal and were willing him to be a success. Everyone knew the much tougher test would come against Liverpool at the weekend. It was another he passed with flying colours.
What is so good about the goalkeeper is how understated he is. For too long there has been debate and discourse over who has played in goal, with Ruben Amorim in desperate need of stability and security from his goalkeeper. He publicly backed both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, but it has been known since the start of the year that he wanted to revamp his options in goal amid doubts over the pair.
In each of his appearances so far, Lammens has excelled with his simplicity. He has known when to come off his line and when to sit back and offered a commanding presence with crosses into his box. It are these simple things that build up over time and earn the confidence of a defence, in turn building trust and giving defenders more freedom to express themselves in possession.
Another key factor on Sunday was his distribution. While there is an emphasis on building out from the back, it is sometimes an idealistic vision that can prove detrimental if done for the wrong reasons. United knew they would risk playing themselves into trouble if they did so against Liverpool and instead played it safer with long clearances that immediately ended the pressure and reset play.
“We know how they press, they’re gonna go man-vs-man, so I think being realistic, coming into Anfield, it’s quite difficult to build up, I think, so from the beginning on with the defenders, I think I made the decision that we should get more of a long ball and do it with the second ball,” Lammens said after the win.
“Even though we didn’t really have a target striker. But I think even though we didn’t have one, the second ball we did quite good, so that’s how we could still push them away, and how we also scored the first one, I think, it was because of the long ball, second ball and then a counter.”
It has been several years since United had such assurance in their goalkeeper and even during the David de Gea’s reign as the best in the world, he struggled in the areas Lammens has excelled at across his first two matches. The Spaniard was easily the greatest shot-stopper the club have ever had, though he did not thrive as much from aerial balls into his own box and the authority the youngster has showcased.
Edwin van der Sar, who left back in 2011, might be a more accurate comparison for his reading of the game, though it is still far too early to be bracketed with such names after only two matches. What Lammens needs is a prolonged run in the first-team and backing through his highs and lows in order to see what he is truly made of.
“I think we’ve tasted it and now we want more, that’s the most important, so this is not the end station, so now we just have to keep going.”
With Lammens in goal, United’s season might be back on track.
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