All eyes are on Senne Lammens after the Belgian sealed a deadline day move to Manchester United, and it’s the first time since David de Gea that the club have signed a ‘project goalkeeper’.
The man tasked with leading that project was Eric Steele, who guided David de Gea from a 20-year-old raw Spaniard to one of the best in the world.
Senne Lammens is 23, but arrives from Belgium instead of the more competitive La Liga, from which De Gea arrived. So the parameters are broadly the same.
Steele has now told Ruben Amorim that a negative for Man Utd is a positive for Lammens, particularly the presence of one teammate who can be ‘brilliant’ for him.
Senne Lammens joining Man Utd at the ideal time
Steele knows better than anyone the challenges that a young goalkeeper faces at Man Utd, having been on Sir Alex Ferguson’s staff as a goalkeeping coach.
His work with De Gea sets him apart, and that’s what the current staff will hope to replicate with Senne Lammens.
The position of a goalkeeper at Old Trafford is brutal in terms of the scrutiny and pressure it brings, but Steele, speaking to “United! United! United!” YouTube channel, said that Lammens has joined the club at a good time, even though it’s a bad time for the club itself.
Steele said: “[Lammens has] got to step in now and very quickly. I think a good point [for him] is not a good point for the football club.
“He’s going to get that training time Monday to Friday at work with Amorim and his coaches, and that will help him [since United are not in Europe and out of the Carabao Cup already].
“That’s like a fast track going on, really.”
Tom Heaton’s importance for Lammens
Unlike De Gea, who was joining a team of serial winners under a legendary manager, Lammens joins a team with brittle confidence needing a lift.
That, ideally, should not be the job of a player who’s at the start of his own career, which is why Eric Steele says Tom Heaton will be important for Lammens.
Heaton’s presence as a dressing room leader has been praised endlessly, and it’s why he gets contract extensions without being looked at as a first-team contributor.
Heaton will need to take Lammens under his wing because he’s one of the precious few links to a successful era at Old Trafford.
Steele said: “Tom Heaton will be brilliant for him. Heaton’s there not just as a training goalkeeper. He’ll want to make sure the standards in training are really as good as they should be for a club of Man United’s stature. Tom would be very, very good.”
Lammens faces a potential trial by fire at United because the club’s post-international break fixtures are against Man City and Chelsea.
In any case, there needs to be an understanding that Lammens will make mistakes, but needs to be given a long rope with patience.
It’s all about how he bounces back from the lows and keeps his head on his shoulders during the highs.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
