Manchester United’s new Premier League season is already under threat of being undone and derailed by the same old problems.
The club has spent almost £200milliion rebuilding their attack with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha joined by Benjamin Sesko in attack.
But as transfer deadline day arrived, the club were still scrambling for an answer in goal.
Altay Bayindir’s calamitous error on the opening day of the season against Arsenal set the tone, an uncertain display that was further compounded by his questionable performance against Fulham.
And Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Burnley came despite the Turkey international again being brutally exposed on crosses, responsible for another mistake.
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Andre Onana’s disastrous night against Grimsby Town should surely signal the end of his days of being no1 choice. At 39 years old, and having not played a competitive game in almost four years, Tom Heaton is not the answer.
On the final day of the summer transfer window, United were in talks with two goalkeepers – Emiliano Martinez and Senne Lammens – but they now appear to have made their choice.
Why United opted for wildcard Senne Lammens
United had been in talks with Royal Antwerp over the signing of Lammens for the last two weeks, but have finally made a breakthrough on the final day of the window.
The 23-year-old is expected to complete his move to United for an initial €21m (£18.2m) fee, plus €4m in add-ons, and will sign a five-year deal at Old Trafford.
That fee is the most paid for a goalkeeper from a Belgian Pro League side, but perhaps comes as no surprise given Lammens has already drawn comparisons with his countryman Thibaut Courtois.
While signing Martinez on a huge salary would have been fitting of previous regimes at Old Trafford, targeting one of Europe’s emerging talents is perhaps more in line with INEOS’ thinking.
And taking a closer look at the stats, it’s clear why many are confident that Lammens will quickly usurp both Onana and Bayindir in the pecking order.
First off, the Belgian would offer United a huge improvement in dealing with crosses, boasting near identical stats to Martinez in crossing metrics, and also outranking the likes of Onana, Alisson Becker, Ederson, Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson.
Lammens also excelled across a number of different areas, averaging more saves per match than Martinez, with a huge save percentage of 81.4 per cent.
Martinez might be regarded as one of the penalty saving king on the grandest stage, but the Belgian is also building his own fearsome reputation, stopping five spot kicks since the start of last season – more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top 10 leagues during that period.
Doubts creeping in over Emiliano Martinez
With Lammens nearly through the door, a deal for Martinez is off the cards, despite the Aston Villa keeper’s clear desire for a move to Old Trafford.
And with a penchant for delivering on the biggest stages, Martinez certainly would have had the personality to be the commanding leader that United need.
In shot-stopping, his distribution and aerial presence, the Aston Villa star has been among the best in the Premier League in recent years with only Jordan Pickford (569) making more top flight saves than Martinez (530) since the Argentine joined Villa in 2020.
What’s more, his other assets would go some way towards addressing United’s biggest weaknesses in goal.
Against Arsenal, Bayindir was bullied in the United goal, and, on Saturday, the United shot stopper managed to spill Loum Tchaouna’s 66th-minute effort into the path of Jaidon Anthony, who made no mistake from close range.
Onana’s reluctance to come off his line for crosses has been a constant theme during his struggles, but, in that respect, Martinez excells. No other goalkeeper in the Premier League stopped more crosses than the Argentine during the 2024-25 season.
However, judging him solely on the eye test, there appeared to be a decline in his performances last season, following on from a sublime 2023-24 campaign with the data supporting it.
A save percentage of 67.9 per cent is only good enough for 14th best in the English top flight, declining from 74.4 per cent in 2022-23 when he scooped his first Lev Yashin Trophy. Only four goalkeepers conceded more than the former Arsenal youngster (45) last season.
And at 32 years old, there is a thought that the World Cup winner’s best days are beyond him, and if United are to drag themselves out of their current malaise, they have to look at the future.
Only time will tell if Lammens, not yet capped at senior level by his country, is ready to deal with the pressure-cooker environment of Old Trafford. But after Bayindir and Onana’s respective starts to the season, United had no choice but to roll the dice.
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