Manchester United are ready to make another move in the transfer market as Ruben Amorim closes in on the capture of goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp
Manchester United remain in talks to land goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth £17.3 million as Ruben Amorim responds to calls to add a new shotstopper.
A transfer is close and the current negotiations centre around the structure of any deal. The 23-year-old, if he did arrive in Manchester, is seen as a long-term project rather than someone who would come in and immediately become first choice, reports Sky Sports.
United's interest in Lammens is also not motivated by a desire to offload one of their current goalkeeper. Altay Bayindir deputised for Andre Onana in last Sunday's loss to Arsenal, but his error ultimately proved crucial in the end result.
Onana himself has not convinced during his two years in Manchester and there was talk this summer of him moving on, although he's determined to stay and prove himself once he returns to full fitness.
Amorim, after Sunday's loss, maintained that he was happy with the options he had in between the sticks and any arrivals would not lead to another goalkeeper leaving Manchester with Onana, Bayindir and Tom Heaton currently available to him.
The Portuguese boss said: "It's not an idea that 'these players are going to leave and then we'll receive another player'. We don't know what is going to happen but we are not waiting to take out someone to bring another player [in].
"One thing is not responsible for the other. The players you're talking about are not players who are training with the group in this moment. We have a group training so it's not going to affect a lot."
Gary Neville was among those to insist that his former club go into the market for a new goalkeeper. He maintained that it was an issue that would continue to haunt them and the lack of a dominant presence would hamper their backline.
“There's a glaring issue that Man United cannot ignore and it is the fact they need to find a goalkeeper. They have to," said the Sky Sports pundit.
“I'm unequivocal on that because I had an experience with Man Utd for 20 years where there were two big periods of seven or eight years with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar. In between, we had seven or eight goalkeepers in a six, seven, eight-year period and it is really unsettling when you haven't got a dominant No 1."