Senne Lammens is the current Man Utd No. 1, but Radek Vitek is making a serious push to challenge him next season. The winner will be decided by one key thing.
Manchester United’s goalkeeping problem has suddenly turned from an issue of not having any competent options to potentially having multiple.
Senne Lammens has proven the naysayers wrong, one of whom was Ruben Amorim, by coming to Old Trafford and settling in like he’s played for decades.
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Radek Vitek, on the other hand, is becoming undeniable in the Championship and is well set for a race against Lammens to be the club’s No. 1 next season, provided he fixes a flaw he shares with the Belgian.
Radek Vitek and Senne Lammens have same outdated habit
Both Vitek and Lammens have shown the ability to rise to the occasion in different ways.
For Lammens, he’s taken to the Premier League and the pressure of playing for Man Utd in his stride despite coming from the Belgian League.
Vitek, on the other hand, has had quite a circuitous route, from Accrington Stanley in League Two to the Austrian First Division and the Championship now.
He has impressed everywhere, which speaks volumes about his mentality and the ability to adapt to the level he’s playing at.
However, both share the same outdated habit, which is their inclination to kick the ball long instead of being able to play out from the back.
Both are showing signs of becoming elite shot-stoppers. Vitek is putting one save of the year contender after another for Bristol, while Lammens has been the calmness needed after the chaos of his predecessors.
That has come at the cost of the ability to play with the ball, especially when the opposition presses high.
Neither is comfortable with playing as the “11th outfielder,” which goalkeepers of elite teams are often asked to do.
Both Vitek and Lammens have a passing accuracy that sits below 60%, which can be considered as the cut-off mark for elite ball-playing goalkeepers.
That says that both prefer to play it long more often than not, resulting in a lower pass completion rate. It’s notable that managers have had to change their playing styles to accommodate goalkeepers who weren’t comfortable on the ball.
With a new manager coming in the summer, whoever fixes this flaw first will steal a march to become United’s No. 1.
A tense race to be Man Utd’s No. 1 awaits
United’s gamble on Lammens working out has led them to a situation where Vitek’s path has been complicated.
Had they signed someone like Emi Martinez, he would have provided a clear pathway to transition towards installing Vitek as the No. 1 in the long term.
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As it stands, Vitek will have to fight it out with Lammens for the United No. 1 spot, which means both players will have to take every advantage they can get to win.
Since they share the same flaw of not being pressure resistant in the buildup phase, whoever fixes it first, or shows that they are further along than the other, will immediately get a boost to their prospects.
Lammens has the incumbent advantage, so Vitek will have to fight harder to dislodge the Belgian, but if he keeps showing elite shot-stopping and works on his ball-playing, then there’s no reason why he won’t be allowed a jab at Lammens’ spot.
This is unlike David de Gea vs Dean Henderson, where the Spaniard had age, experience, pedigree, legacy, and fan credit on his side compared to an upstart in Henderson.
Both Vitek and Lammens have a lot to prove in the game. Whoever fixes their shared flaw first will be a good starting point.
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