Peter Schmeichel claims his old side Man United have signed the wrong goalkeeper and admitted he ‘had never heard of Senne Lammens’.
It has been one of the problem positions for Ruben Amorim and United recruited £21million Senne Lammens, with error-prone Andre Onana heading to Trabzonspor on loan.
United were linked with both Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer transfer window.
Both would have brought huge experience at the top level and a presence required for the position at Old Trafford.
Martinez ended up staying at Villa Park, while Donnarumma joined Man City and starred in their derby win over United last weekend.
Schmeichel, a United and Premier League legend, told SunSport through Sky Bet: ‘We should have signed Emi Martinez. In fact, we should have gone for Gianluigi Donnarumma when we had the chance.
Senne Lammens signed for Man United when they could have gone for an experienced option
Emiliano Martinez (left) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (right) were considered
‘With Martinez, everything was lined up and that felt like really good news, because he’s exactly the kind of goalkeeper Manchester United should have.’
The 23-year-old Lammens is regarded as a top prospect but there are plenty of unknowns about whether he can cope with the pressure of the No 1 shirt at United.
Schmeichel added: ‘As for Lammens, I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of him until the link came up.
‘I know his stats are excellent across the top ten European leagues. But that was with Antwerp in Belgium, in a team that finished fifth.
‘Stats don’t show how you react after a mistake, or how you cope with the pressure of Manchester United. That pressure is unlike anywhere else in football.’
The legendary former stopper described Lammens as a ‘risk’, when proven certainties were there to be recruited.
Martinez, in particular, was desperate to join United and left disappointed when a move didn’t come to fruition.
Man United’s legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel criticised the decision to sign Lammens
Lammens is still waiting to make his United debut, which could come on Saturday
Altay Bayindir was given the nod to start the derby but fans will be expecting to see Lammens given his chance soon.
It will be fascinating to see whether United’s gamble pays off or whether the pressure that consumed Onana has the same debilitating effect on the new signing.
United welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford in Saturday’s late kick-off and Amorim has a huge selection call to make.
Outspoken Schmeichel has already made waves this season for his comments on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal after their 1-0 defeat by Liverpool.
Schmeichel had said on ViaPlay: ‘I don’t want to insult Arsenal but their brand of football is so annoying to watch, it’s designed to exploit opponents’ mistakes while waiting for set pieces.
‘Then they take their time and take the tempo out of the game. I have never in my life ever wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today. Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game.
‘Arteta, let your team play football! Let them loose, let them be free. I am absolutely convinced that if Arteta does this, they will win more games.’
