At a Glance
- Lammens joined Manchester United last summer
- The Belgian has been a crucial signing
- Reds’ goalkeeping situation has been an issue
The goalkeeping position at Manchester United arguably brings more spotlight than any other in world football. It made the need for United’s next goalkeeper signing after Andre Onana a very important decision.
In an era where fans have unprecedented access to players’ lives, the scrutiny of every parried shot or misplaced pass is amplified to an exhausting degree, as seen by Onana and Altay Bayindir’s blunders this season.
Even in prior years, United fans had lived through this script. David De Gea provided a perfect example of this upon joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011 as Edwin van der Sar’s successor.
Before the heightened eyes of social media, he became the face of the back pages over a “stolen” Tesco doughnut. It was a level of absurdity that defined his shaky start under Sir Alex Ferguson. If that level of character assassination can happen to a future club legend, it can happen to anyone.
INEOS handpicking Lammens a stroke of genius
Since Lammens arrived from Royal Antwerp for £18.1m in September 2025, the circus has finally packed up and left the red side of Manchester. The Belgian managed the impossible: making goalkeeping ‘boring’ for all the right reasons.
On his debut under Ruben Amorim, the Old Trafford faithful greeted his ability to simply catch a cross with a sigh of relief. Fans labelled him “Schmeichel in disguise”, to which Lammens was quick to dismiss.
Earlier last summer, rumours had swirled of Manchester United chasing a big-name like Gianluigi Donnarumma or Emiliano Martinez. However, INEOS chose the route of handpicking a relatively unknown goalkeeper and haven’t looked back since.
According to Statman Dave, Lammens has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this season, with a staggering 5.8 goals prevented.
Lowkey Lammens
Away from the pitch, what makes Lammens work is that he takes the attention away from himself and the club. He has been spotted dressing like any other mid-20’s person you’d see in Deansgate.
In an interview with BBC Sport, he admitted that he watches basketball than football in his downtime. One can imagine that overanalysing performances beyond the club’s analysis team can break the mental fortitude of some players.
Lammens is also for the people – or children, in particular. On World Book Day, he was pictured at Partington Central Academy with the United Foundation spending time with local students.
Whilst there is nothing wrong with having an ego or having an acquired taste in fashion, it inadvertently helps United and INEOS that he is a simple man by nature who will show up to do his job and go home without any headlines following him. Sir Jim Ratcliffe would be well served following Lammens’ approach sometimes.
Lammens is a breath of fresh air that United needed this season. He has exceeded expectations of just being an Onana replacement and has become one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season.
