Manchester United completed the signing of Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp for €21m (£18m) plus add-ons on transfer deadline day, choosing him over Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez to strengthen Ruben Amorim’s goalkeeping options. The 22-year-old is United’s fourth major signing of the widow, following Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, to take the club’s summer spending to £225.2m
Lammens travelled to Manchester on Monday afternoon prior to signing a five-year contract. United consider Lammens, who has nine caps for Belgium’s Under-21 side, a prospect for the future who can also challenge André Onana or Altay Bayindir for the No 1 spot immediately.
“I am extremely proud to be joining Manchester United,” said Lammens. “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.”
United had considered signing Martínez but the Argentina World Cup-winner’s £35m asking price and age – he turns 33 on Tuesday – ultimately made Lammens the club’s favoured option. With Tom Heaton also at United, Lammens’ arrival means Amorim has four goalkeepers. As Onana is expected to be part of Cameroon’s African Cup of Nations challenge for up to six weeks, starting in mid-December, the Portuguese is relaxed about having to manage the quartet.
Following a troubled three years at United, Antony was sold to Real Betis for a €25m (£21.6m) package that includes a 50% sell-on clause. United also offloaded Jadon Sancho to Aston Villa on a season-long loan that sees the Midlands club cover 80% of the winger’s wages. Rasmus Højlund also secured a season-long loan move to Napoli that includes an obligation for the Serie A champions to sign the Denmark forward on a permanent basis if they qualify for the Champions League.
United ended the window with no new midfield acquisitions, though they made an enquiry to Atlético Madrid regarding the availability to Connor Gallager, while Kobbie Mainoo’s wish to leave on loan was not granted. Tyrell Malacia was also not able to secure a move away from Old Trafford.
