Manchester United had a frantic deadline day with many outgoings and the arrival of Senne Lammens, but one masterstroke they pulled off will satisfy fans the most.
Man Utd have a well-defined list of priorities going into the deadline. A goalie was on the agenda, and they needed to move a lot of players, particularly the ones who were banished.
As the outgoings continued to be finalized throughout the day, Senne Lammens and Emi Martinez alternated as the goalkeepers.
Although Lammens’ style of play is tantalizing, United made a brilliant move in the process of acquiring him.
Man Utd’s masterstroke en route to Senne Lammens
The trade proceeded so swiftly once United rekindled their interest in Martinez that it was nearly forgotten that Lammens was United’s first option.
He was even excluded from their team for a previous match because Antwerp didn’t want to risk his possible transfer to Old Trafford.
But after a delay over the asking price, United turned to Martinez, and things proceeded swiftly, particularly because Jadon Sancho joined Villa on loan.
In the end, what happened can only be called a complete masterstroke.
Martinez proved to be the smokescreen to soften Antwerp’s position, in addition to United’s successful sale of Sancho on loan, where they hardly had to pay him any money.
The Belgian club’s asking price dropped significantly from the initial ask of about £25 million, with United doing the deal for just £18.2 million initially, and performance-based add-ons taking it to about £20m.
The absence of a sell-on clause for a young player like Lammens can’t be scoffed at either, especially coming from a smaller club on a low fee.
Man Utd fans have been asking for this
Although it’s not ideal for Emi Martinez, who went above and above to get at Old Trafford, Manchester United is at last behaving like a team that understands what it’s doing.
They maintained their composure when Antwerp was being challenging, and they didn’t lose heart when they were priced out of a move for Martinez early in the window.
In a brilliant move that had not hitherto been associated with United, they ultimately set those two against one another and negotiated the best possible contract for themselves.
Ruben Amorim is yet to prove himself on the pitch, but Ineos have definitely proven themselves off it. Gone are the days of panic-buying Antony and Casemiro, or negotiating all summer for Frenkie de Jong before realising the player doesn’t want to come.
This masterstroke needs to turn into a modus operandi soon.
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