Manchester United have signed goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth around £18.2m plus add-ons
Manchester United is pleased to confirm that Senne Lammens has joined the club, subject to international clearance and registration. The goalkeeper has signed a contract until June 2030.
Lammens has already played 64 games for Royal Antwerp and helped them win the Belgian Super Cup in 2023.
The 23-year-old, who was named in the Belgium national team squad for the first time in March, kept the most clean sheets in the Belgian Pro League last season.
Senne Lammens 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.”
Jason Wilcox, Director of Football, said:
“Senne is an excellent young goalkeeper with great potential; we are delighted that he has chosen to join Manchester United after significant interest from a number of clubs.”
Why have Man Utd signed Lammens?
Sky Sports News' Danyal Khan:
"Manchester United have signed Senne Lammens with an eye to the now as well as the future.
"The 23-year-old keeper, 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.
"It's no secret they looked at other options, such as tried and tested Emiliano Martinez at Aston Villa, but with all factors considered, United felt Lammens was the direction they wanted to go in.
"Although Lammens has limited experience - only one season as a first-choice No 1 at Royal Antwerp, United are confident in Lammens' potential to compete immediately as well as having room to grow with a side that has the ultimate aim to win the Premier League title in three years time."
What can Man Utd expect from Lammens?
Football expert Kevin Hatchard on Sky Sports News:
"He's very calm. The mentality is good, I've spoken to goalkeeping coaches and he's been seen as a rising star in Belgium for quite a while.
"He was at Club Brugge and couldn't get past Simon Mignolet, who was in excellent form. He went to Antwerp, and the number of shots he's saving beyond what the expected goals would expect him to concede has been very, very high.
"Antwerp have one of the best defensive records in Belgium last season. But it's a huge leap to be the No 1 at Man Utd.
"An interesting thing is that when Ruben Amorim was at Sporting, they were tracking him then. So there's obviously been a like there for quite some time."
Stats suggest Lammens is special
Sky Sports' Adam Bate:
Lammens boasts some striking statistics last season, some simple and others complex. He saved four penalties in the Belgian league, twice as many as anyone else, and his total of 173 saves was the most of any goalkeeper in the top eight leagues.
Given that information, it is perhaps not so surprising that the advanced metrics also suggest he was the outstanding performer. Based on the expected-goals data, he prevented half a goal every 90 minutes - more than any other keeper in Europe.
He has earned a reputation as a ball-playing goalkeeper with a real range of passes at his disposal, although the statistics suggest he is not quite so accustomed to rushing off his line as regularly as some of the more high-profile sweeper-keepers around.
In Belgium, his list of admirers include former national team goalkeepers Michel Preud'homme and Simon Mignolet but the step up to playing for Manchester United will still be a test of technique and temperament for this talented 23-year-old prospect.
Why Man Utd needed a goalkeeper
Sky Sports' Gary Neville:
"If your goalkeeper is making mistakes, it undermines everything that you do. And at Old Trafford, it's the most unforgiving ground for goalkeepers.
"The Manchester United goalkeeper spot is the toughest position in English football, bar none. If you give goals away at United as a keeper, you'll be scrutinised heavily.
"It's not about never making mistakes - it's about how you recover from them, your body language, and whether you look authoritative. [Onana and Bayindir] don't fill that role."