The Manchester United goalkeeping position has ended bigger reputations than it has made. So the quiet rise of Senne Lammens — signed from Royal Antwerp in 2025 for a reported fee in the region of £18 million — into the club’s established number one is one of the season’s better stories.
Calm Above All
What strikes you watching Lammens is what does not happen: no panic, no drama, no gestures at his defence. He claims crosses early, takes the sting out of games with simple decisions, and distributes with the composure Carrick’s build-up play demands. For a defence that has changed personnel constantly this season, a calm goalkeeper is worth points on his own.
The Shot-Stopping
Calm is not the same as passive. Lammens’ reflexes — honed in Belgium, where he built a reputation as one of Europe’s best young keepers at reading penalties and one-v-ones — have produced the saves that keep United in matches they are losing control of. He makes the difficult look routine, which is the entire job.
Why Carrick Trusts Him
Carrick’s United play out from the back more than any United side in years. That system dies with a goalkeeper who cannot pass, and Lammens’ distribution — short into the back three, or clipped into the wing-backs — is a genuine tactical tool. He is, in effect, the first line of the attack.
The Road Ahead
He is still young for a goalkeeper, and the spotlight at Old Trafford finds everyone eventually. But the position that has been a problem for years currently looks like one of the few solved problems in the squad. His next tests are on our full fixture list, starting with the Aston Villa preview at Old Trafford.
