One thing that both Andre Onana and Ruben Amorim guaranteed was headlines. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
When they were good, everyone would know about it. Onana’s crucial penalty save against FC Copenhagen comes to mind, or his man-of-the-match display away to Ipswich Town. Beating Liverpool away remains one of Amorim’s finest moments.
When they were bad, best believe they would top the billing. In this category, there are simply too many moments to choose from. Grimsby Town was an almighty disaster for both earlier this season. Both men were unquestionably box office.
A No 10 should be box office, much like Bruno Fernandes is proving to be. A winger should be box office. A striker should be box office. Goalkeeper? Not something any fan would list among the requirements.
Goalkeeper and manager are two positions where boring can be king. Positions where mistakes made can have catastrophic consequence. Consistency wins out every time.
And for all his faults, Amorim knew this. He knew United would never properly be able to make real progress without a reliable goalkeeper. He knew before the 2024-25 season expired that Onana wasn’t the man with which United could hang their hat on.
That was underscored in Munich, in Istanbul, in Lyon, in Bilbao, and in Grimsby.
Senne Lammens showed against Brentford why he is the Premier League signing of the season
‘In this club, the pressure is sometimes so hard on every detail,’ Amorim explained. ‘Sometimes you need a change. I think we understood that [Onana] needed a change.
‘Sometimes it’s hard to point why. It’s the performance, the moments. The bad luck in some moments was hard on him, and it was hard on us. Our thinking is to have a change in the goalkeepers.’
So out with Onana and in came Altay Bayindir for the first six games of this season, going on to concede 11 goals through six games. That total ranked joint-worst of the 17 teams outside the relegation zone at that stage. That was no good either.
And so for the visit of Sunderland, who United face again on May 9, in came Senne Lammens, a young goalkeeper that arrived – with a few reviews but without A-List status – for a modest fee by modern standards of just £18.1million.
Now, in light of the latest in a string of fine performances, it is safe to say Lammens has and is proving to be the Premier League’s pound-for-pound signing of the season. To United he is worth his weight in gold.
Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Granit Xhaka (Sunderland) and Anton Stach (Leeds United) can all make strong cases.
Zoom in on United in particular and all of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko have had real highs and lows. Mbeumo flew out of the blocks but has faded while Cunha and Sesko took a while to warm into the season.
All the while, Lammens set a standard and has rarely dropped below it in the seven months as No 1.
So, yes, he’s the signing of the season, for the transformative effect, so much of it done without generating too many headlines in the process, he has had on a United side that was crying out for reliability in goal.
Sir Alex Ferguson had a far from perfect record when it came to goalkeeper recruitment but he knew a diamond when he saw one and made sure to maximise talent around one when he had it to deliver the biggest prizes.
Each of Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea, all signed by the legendary Scot, have been cornerstones of successful United teams for years on end.
All of those also instilled confidence in team-mates and supporters. Delivered big saves in big moments. Looked decisive and brave aerially. Lammens does all of the above. United don’t beat Brentford without him.
Andre Onana’s stock diminished in a United shirt, underscored when away at Grimsby Town
Since coming in in matchday seven for his debut, United have conceded 35 goals – including Mathias Jensen’s 87th-minute stunner on Sunday. That ranks fourth best in league in that spell, behind title chasers Arsenal and Manchester City, as well as Brighton.
Lammens has also not made a single error leading to a goal this season and without his five saves against Brentford, Carrick and Co would unquestionably have been left reflecting on more dropped points.
Particularly his point-blank stop eight minutes before half-time when his cat-like reactions bailed out Ayden Heaven after Igor Thiago got goal side when the ball deflected off Heaven and ricocheted at speed towards Lammens. Big save with United leading 1-0. It was a result-saving intervention. Par for the course for the Belgian. Quelle surprise.
Onana arrived as a highly-sought after goalkeeper; he had just been in the Champions League final with Inter Milan and had a major fan in Van der Sar from his time at Ajax. In no time, fan faith had been eroded.
It’s the polar opposite with Lammens. He’s decisive and gets on with his business, letting the players ahead of him make the plays to take the headlines.
It spoke volumes that after this crucial win, which takes United within two points of guaranteeing a return to Champions League football, Gary Neville, working for Sky Sports, overlooked him as one of the game’s most important players. A silent assassin if there ever was one.
Where people are debating who should be head coach, or which centre backs should play, or the best combination of full-backs that should feature, or ask which wingers are best suited to be in the starting XI, or debate whether Benjamin Sesko is better starting or coming on as a super sub, nobody is entertaining any discussion over the goalkeeping position.
Not now. Not in the summer when there is the prospect that Onana will return to the club in pre-season. Not in the transfer market. United feel they have struck gold in Lammens.
‘If Senne keeps working hard, as he has been doing, he can be one of the world’s best,’ club scout Tony Coton, who was a driving force in recommending Lammens be signed from Royal Antwerp, said recently.
He made five saves against Brentford and produced a performance that ensured the victory
He eases worries of supporters where many goalkeepers in recent years have caused anxiety
With every passing week, Coton’s intervention looks even more masterful. All the evidence so far from Lammens is that United have found their cornerstone guy.
‘To be the No 1 at United you need to have rhino skin,’ ex-United defender Phil Jones once said.
He’s right. It’s a thankless task. Pressure is unlike what many goalkeeping peers will experience. And yet, Lammens has shown this is a role he can take completely in his stride.
Heading into the summer, United can sit back and relax as Aston Villa – who wanted Lammens before he joined United – Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Newcastle United are all set to be scrambling around trying to find a reliable goalkeeper.
All while Old Trafford, it seems, already has their next bedrock; a man who, to date, has only been criticised for his fashion sense by team-mates, rather than his football.
‘I try to show the world I’m just a normal guy,’ Lammens said earlier this season.
Given what came before, that will do just fine.
