Before the Red Devils acquired Senne Lammens on the final day of the 2025 transfer window, two other English Premier League teams apparently considered him a hazardous investment. Lammens replaced Andre Onana at Manchester United by moving from Royal Antwerp in Belgium for £18.1 million.
Andre Onana, a goalkeeper from Cameroon, earned his name at Ajax and Inter Milan, but his two seasons with Manchester were marred by mistakes, making him a contentious figure at the club. Altay Bayındır has started all three Premier League games thus far, despite manager Ruben Amorim’s stated support for him.
United was negotiating for a goalkeeper with two clubs on the day of the deadline, September 1. The Red Devils were negotiating with Aston Villa for World Cup champion Emi Martinez in addition to Lammens. However, Man United ultimately chose to sign 23-year-old Lammens over the seasoned Martinez, who was expected to want £200,000 per week.
It has recently come to light that Leeds and Sunderland had previously approached Antwerp about Lammens but had withdrawn because of the high asking price. Later, Sunderland paid £11.5 million to get Robin Roefs from the Netherlands’ NEC Nijmegen, while Leeds paid £14 million to recruit goalkeeper Lucas Perri from Lyon.
Why did Leeds or Sunderland not sign Lammens?
Leeds and Sunderland reportedly decided against acquiring Lammens because they believed it was too early for him to establish himself as a Premier League first-choice goalkeeper, according to an explosive story on express.co.uk. After taking into account important elements including “athletic ability and mental acuity, as well as his technical parameters,” their scouts made this decision.
Lammens has played in 93 games, but only 52 of those have been in the top tier Belgian Pro League, according to a BBC report, meaning he is still mostly unknown.
As Lammens prepares for his Man United debut against local rivals Manchester City on Sunday, this would undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on him.
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