Manchester United could be about to render one of their summer signings pointless after INEOS left a glaring weak spot in Ruben Amorim’s side…
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his supposed best-in-class recruitment team have done little right since taking over at Man Utd, whose woes in the transfer market continued in the summer window.
Club chiefs foolishly decided to focus mainly on attacking signings, with around £200m spent to land Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. This is quite the feat considering they were said to be at risk of running out of money this year…
Mbeumo and Cunha have impressed in flashes, though Man Utd remain just as incohesive in attack as they were last season, with more attention needed to be placed on recruits in supporting areas.
The Red Devils did, however, look to address the goalkeeping department, though they settled on relatively unproven 23-year-0ld Senne Lamhers despite being linked with cut-price moves for Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emiliano Martinez, both of whom would have been clear upgrades on Andre Onana.
United’s naysayers have rightly argued that they need to target a top-tier goalkeeper with a strong personality, a la Donnarumma or Martinez, to cope with the demands of being a No.1 at Old Trafford, with this sentiment further fuelled by Amorim’s refusal to start Lammens ahead of Alter Bayindir, who is certainly not good enough to be anything more than a No.2 for a big club.
Pundit Peter Crough raised his concerns about Lammens before Saturday’s defeat to Brentford, claiming United “have got three number twos”.
“It feels to me that the situation with the goalkeeper just hasn’t been addressed,” Crouch told TNT Sports before Manchester United’s defeat to Brentford.
“It feels like they’ve got three number twos now. It’s an issue that was obvious, Andre Onana wasn’t going to be the No. 1, we knew that at the start of the season but the situation still hasn’t been addressed.
“They brought in Senne Lammens but he’s not starting yet, he’s a young lad who’s only had one full season in football. I don’t know why when you’ve got Donnarumma or Martinez available, the situation wasn’t resolved.”
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And the feeling that Lammens is a pointless signing would be confirmed if Man Utd sign another goalkeeper in 2026, which they are reportedly planning to do.
According to journalist Fraser Fletcher in a report for our pals at TEAMtalk, Man Utd are ‘competing’ with Chelsea to sign AC Milan standout Mike Maignan, who is due to be out of contract next summer, as they plot a transfer hijack.
‘United’s interest in Maignan remains undiminished despite the summer signing of Senne Lammens, who is yet to start a game for the Red Devils.
‘TEAMtalk sources state that Ruben Amorim’s side view Maignan as a world-class upgrade, valuing his experience from winning Serie A and Ligue 1 titles.’
At this stage, it would not be surprising if/when Chelsea beat Man Utd to Maignan as they did with Liam Delap, but the reported interest from the Red Devils is alarming, as it poses the question: Why on earth did they sign Lammens?
