Senne Lammens forces U-turn from ex-Man Utd player as 'statement' made

Senne Lammens is already forcing people to revise their opinions of him following his impressive debut for Manchester United. The goalkeeper kept a clean sheet during the club's 2-0 Premier League win over Sunderlandon Saturday after being picked to start ahead of Altay Bayindir by head coach Ruben Amorim.

The Belgium international, who joined United from Royal Antwerp for £18million during the summer transfer window, turned in a solid display at Old Trafford. Such was the 23-year-old's command of his area that supporters even serenaded him with chants of "are you Schmeichel in disguise?"

One person who was originally sceptical about Lammens' arrival was former United keeper Ben Foster, who was at the club between 2005 and 2010 and now presents his own podcast. The ex-England and Wrexham star described the deadline day deal as a "panic buy" and "desperate" at the time the swoop was made.

However, he now appears to have had a change of heart after praising Lammens' performance on his maiden outing. Foster has also urged Amorim to hand the No.1 spot to him permanently following the international break.

Speaking on the Fozcast podcast, he said: "It was a brilliant debut. I think the debut is such an important thing for a goalkeeper for that club and he handled it with flying colours. They've got to stick with him now.

READ MORE: Peter Schmeichel lays down specific Man Utd challenge he passed to Senne Lammens

READ MORE: Man Utd flop Andre Onana ALREADY lined up for permanent Trabzonspor transfer

"If they're bringing him in now, just before the international break it's a statement, [saying], 'You're our number one goalkeeper now for the rest of the season. Let's see what you're made of.'"

According to reports, United officials have been pleased with Lammens since he made the switch from Antwerp. They are also said to believe they made the right call in pursuing the promising talent over a more seasoned professional such as Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez.

Speaking on Foster's podcast, former England goalkeeper coach Dave Watson also hailed the shot-stopper's performance against Sunderland and credited Amorim for being patient in introducing him into United's starting XI.

He said: "For him not to get any criticism, and come through the game clean, it can't be a better start. That is an amazing platform for him to push on, and I will be really interested to see how he does.

"For all the stick that Amorim's had, I think it would have been easy for him to put him straight in when he did sign. I actually think he's been quite clever in waiting for the team to pick up a little bit."

Lammens' emergence comes after Andre Onana was allowed to leave on loan following an error-strewn two years in Manchester. The Cameroonian is now reportedly set for a permanent move to Trabzonspor after joining the Turkish side on a season-long loan late in the summer window.

Onana has enjoyed a more positive start to life with his new club, having kept two clean sheets across his first four appearances. Trabonspor do not have an option to sign him permanently as part of their loan agreement with United but are said to be keen to keep him regardless.

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