Manchester United new goalkeeper Senne Lammens has expressed his delight after completing his move from Royal Antwerp to Old Trafford.
The 23-year-old emerged as United’s priority goalkeeper target over the last few weeks and his £18.2million plus add-ons transfer from the Belgian club was officially announced late on deadline day.
Royal Antwerp signed him two years ago from Club Brugge and the sale represents nearly 100 per cent profit for the Belgian club. He made 30 appearances in the Belgian Pro League last season, keeping seven clean sheets
Softfootball reports that Lammens is now the fifth signing of the summer for Amorim, taking their summer spend to £232m, following the arrivals of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon.
Lammens who is tipped to be Thibaut Courtois’ successor in the Belgium national side, is seen as the best solution to strengthen an underperforming goalkeeping department after a shaky start to the season by the likes of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.
The Belgian goalkeeper has signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford. United considered a move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez late in the transfer, but club chiefs are convinced Lammens is the best choice after following his progress with Royal Antwerp.
After completing the move to Old Trafford Senne Lammens spoke to United media as seen on the club official website, he said:
“I am extremely proud to be joining Manchester United; 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,”
Lammens’ skill as a shot-stopper impressed United. No ‘keeper made more saves in Europe’s top 10 leagues last season and he had one of the highest goals-prevented metrics in Europe. He also made the most progressive passes for any goalkeeper under the age of 23.
As it stands, United will move forward with four goalkeepers, adding Lammens to their current group of Altay Bayindir, Andre Onana and Tom Heaton. It remains to be seen how Lammens fits into the goalkeeper hierarchy at United.
