Gianluigi Donnarumma was available to Manchester United for just £9 million more than they paid for Senne Lammens, their new goalkeeper. In the closing days of the transfer window, the Red Devils were considering Lammens’ and Emi Martinez’s possibilities from Aston Villa.
The goalkeeper from Royal Antwerp signed a five-year contract worth £18.2 million, making him Ruben Amorim’s last addition on deadline day. However, just across town, Manchester City paid £27 million to get Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Champions League champion signed a five-year contract with United’s rivals at the last minute.
Despite Amorim’s assurance that he was happy with his choices in goal, the PSG ‘keeper had apparently been of interest at Old Trafford during the summer. But no offers were made, and no talks took place, thus Pep Guardiola benefited from Donnarumma joining the Cityzens.
Getting a much more seasoned goalkeeper like the Italian, who maintained a clean sheet to help PSG win the Champions League final 5-0 in May, wouldn’t have cost United much more. However, it was rumored that he and Martinez were both asking for salary of almost £200,000 per week.
Lammens received a significantly smaller compensation package due to his youth and inexperience, and the call was influenced by that financial consideration. On the other hand, Donnarumma expressed his initial happiness about joining City for the 2025–2026 season, saying he is joining a team “packed with world-class talent.”
“To have signed for Manchester City is such a special and proud moment for me,” the 26-year-old stated as he made his formal announcement on Tuesday. I am joining a team that is full of elite players and is coached by Pep Guardiola, one of the best football managers in history.
“This is a club every player in world football would love to join. I have admired watching Manchester City for many years – so to now be able to play for the club is a huge honour and a privilege.
“I cannot wait to meet my new team-mates, the staff and the fans. Playing at the Etihad Stadium will be very, very special for me. I am very excited for what lies ahead and can promise that I will give absolutely everything to try and help the club achieve even more success.”
After Amorim defended his alternatives at the back following their close 3-2 victory over Burnley over the weekend, United instead recruited 23-year-old Lammens to their goalkeeping ranks. Despite being called upon this season, neither Altay Bayindir nor Andre Onana have made a compelling argument for the club’s number one shirt.
In the Premier League, Bayindir has given up four goals and won just one game due to errors against Burnley and Arsenal. Onana, on the other hand, started the Carabao Cup match against League Two team Grimsby Town and let the fourth-tier team lead the Premier League team 2-0 before halftime.
Onana was responsible for Grimsby’s second goal in regular time and watched his club lose the cup competition, despite saving one penalty in the final shootout. A new signer After been selected for the starting lineup at Antwerp the previous season, Lammens is a promising talent with a lot to prove at United.
In March, he was called up to the Belgian senior squad after making 44 appearances across all competitions, keeping 10 clean sheets and saving four penalties. expressing his enthusiasm for joining
United, Lammens said: “I am extremely proud to be joining Manchester United.
“It is a real dream come true. The past few years have been an amazing journey; it’s now ended in an incredible destination and hopefully the beginning of something special.
“You can feel the positive atmosphere that is being created here, and I know that I can make a real impact at the club in the coming years. I cannot wait to get to know my team-mates and begin working with Ruben and the coaching staff. This is the perfect place to keep developing, grow together with this exciting team and achieve my career objectives.”
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