Peter Crouch has hit out Manchester United’s recruitment strategy and claimed the club now have ‘three No 2 goalkeepers’ after benching Senne Lammens again at Brentford.
United signed the Belgium Under-21 international from Royal Antwerp for £21million in the summer but he has yet to make his debut.
Ruben Amorim again turned to Turkey international Altay Bayindir for Saturday’s trip to the Gtech Community Stadium, leaving Lammens watching on from the bench.
Crouch, argued that United failed to address a glaring weakness. He told TNT Sports: ‘It feels to me the situation with the goalkeeper just hasn’t been addressed, it feels like they’ve got three Number 2s.
‘It’s an issue that was obvious – [Andre] Onana wasn’t going to be the No 1, I think we knew that at the start of the season and I don’t think this situation has been addressed.
‘Senne Lammens has come in and was bought to potentially be a No1 but he can’t get in the team. He’s still a young lad, he’s only had one real season in football, and they’re starting Bayindir.
Peter Crouch has hit out Manchester United ‘s recruitment strategy and claimed the club now have ‘three No 2 goalkeepers’
United signed the Belgium Under-21 international from Royal Antwerp for £21million in the summer but he has yet to make his debut
‘I don’t know why, when you’ve got Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emi Martinez available in the summer, the situation wasn’t resolved.’
Heavy scrutiny of United’s goalkeeping has dominated Amorim’s short reign. Onana departed for Trabzonspor after a string of costly mistakes, leaving Bayindir and Lammens to compete for the shirt in difficult circumstances.
Reports stress that Lammens has not put a foot wrong in training, claiming he 23-year-old has impressed with his composure, maturity and calm presence, quickly settling into life in Manchester.
Tom Heaton even praised his new teammate on the Training Ground Guru podcast, remarking: ‘He has a strong personality. His goalkeeping fundamentals are very impressive. I said that to him after a couple of days’ training. He’s been very impressive so far.’
Crouch further reflected on how current No 1 Bayindir was thrust into an unexpected role and suggested the club lacked conviction.
‘Bayindir understood that he was No2, but now he finds himself in a No1 situation. Obviously they don’t think Lammens is ready. He’s still a young man and maybe eventually he’ll be the No1, but a club of United’s stature – you think of Barthez, Van der Sar, Schmeichel – over the course of their history, they’ve always had a dominant goalkeeper.
‘Martinez felt the obvious situation, that he’d come in – he’s dominant, he’s a character, he’s someone who fits the stature of United.’
