What makes Senne Lammens so good as Man Utd’s new first-choice goalkeeper

Add as preferred source on Google

Senne Lammens has made a solid first impression as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper, providing a calmness that acts as the perfect antidote after two years of chaos with Andre Onana between the sticks.

Ruben Amorim made multiple big decisions in his first 11 months as Manchester United head coach, but many fans will argue he was left with no other choice but to find a replacement for Andre Onana.

United started the 2025/26 season with Altay Bayindir as the primary goalkeeper, starting the first six Premier League matches. This meant the writing was on the wall for Onana after making just one appearance in the embarrassing Carabao Cup defeat against Grimsby Town.

While Onana joined Trabzonspor on loan for the season, the Cameroon international cannot complain about the lack of chances he was given at Old Trafford. He conceded 102 goals in 72 matches, many of which were howlers, and only managed 18 clean sheets.

The Cameroon international became a near-ever-present figure in the team after being brought to the club by Erik ten Hag as David de Gea’s replacement, but Amorim wasted no time addressing the issue by signing Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.

Senne Lammens is an upgrade on Andre Onana

Lammens has played three games for United, which is a very small sample size to judge him. That means this is by no means a full assessment of the 23-year-old goalkeeper. I am merely summarising what we’ve seen so far and the reason it has been so encouraging.

The start of the 2025/26 season was pretty painful for United fans, football-wise, but things are looking up after three consecutive wins. It is no coincidence that United have won every game since Amorim brought Lammens into the team because Bayindir brought anything but confidence to the defence.

Instead of having authority in his box, Bayindir would flap at crosses and become an easy target for opposing teams. It proved costly in the opening match of the Premier League season when he struggled to deal with an in-swinging corner kick from Declan Rice. That mistake led to the only goal in the match as United lost 1-0 against Arsenal.

Perhaps the most notable difference so far – with Lammens as goalkeeper – is his calm presence. The young Belgian doesn’t just claim crosses with comfort; he doesn’t mess around at the back or take unnecessary risks. This is what makes the former Royal Antwerp stopper an immediate upgrade on Onana.

I often heard jokes in the Stretford End about fans dealing with terrible cases of Onana-induced heartburn. There was no sense of security, and the supply of Rennie peppermints among United fans ran low.

Lammens was thrust into a massively underperforming team with limited experience, but he has so far made a positive contribution, with fans chanting about him being Peter Schmeichel in disguise.

Furthermore, the introduction of Lammens has helped Amorim make changes to United’s style of play. The starkest difference is the team’s willingness to go long, launching passes out from the goalkeeper.

Lammens has taken to the Premier League like a fish takes to water.

Senne Lammens eyes first individual award at Man Utd

Lammens is one of four United players to be nominated for the club’s Player of the Month award in October.

The others include Bryan Mbeumo, Matthijs de Ligt and Matheus Cunha.

Lammens is a strong contender for the award – along with Mbeumo – after helping United secure their first clean sheet of the season against Sunderland.

The inexperienced stopper also performed brilliantly in United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool.

Perhaps the only goal Lammens should have done better for was Danny Welbeck’s free-kick in United’s 4-2 win over Brighton.