Senne Lammens arrived at Royal Antwerp's Bosuil Stadium on Monday morning, packed his belongings and rushed to Antwerp International Airport without saying goodbye to his teammates.
He landed in Manchester at noon the same day and was immediately taken to Man United's Carrington training complex to complete a £18 million transfer deal.
Lammens have attracted attention across Europe over the past several months. The goalkeeper has just had an impressive season with Antwerp. However, it was not until the final hours of the transfer window that he decided to join Old Trafford.
Emiliano Martinez, with his experience and class, is a safer choice for Man United. However, the salary and transfer fee offered by Aston Villa is too high, forcing the "Red Devils" to consider selling Andre Onana. In fact, Man United tried to push the Cameroonian goalkeeper to Türkiye but failed.
Lammens, if they reach their full potential, can bring much greater value than Martinez. His image reminds him of David de Gea as a young man, joining Man United at the age of 20 and gradually becoming one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Despite the somewhat bold comparison, Lammens still have similarities with De Gea. Both of them have a tall figure and the ability to use their feet to make spectacular saves.
Statistics show that Lammens is a special talent. Last season, he faced a total of 45 expected goals (xG) but conceded only 32 - 13 goals less than the actual xG.
However, the 23-year-old goalkeeper still has many other outstanding points besides the ability to block the shot. When De Gea arrived at Man United in 2011, he struggled with the harshness of the Premier League and set pieces.
In contrast, Lammens are stronger and do not seem to have the same problems. He caught more crosses than any other goalkeeper in the Belgian national championship last season. When the opponent applied an aerial style of play, Lammens was able to block most of the attacks.
Lammens was neat when handling the ball in his feet, calm enough to receive passes when the opposing striker rushed towards him. Most notably is his penalty save.
Last season, the Belgian goalkeeper faced 6 penalties and successfully blocked 4 times. It is very rare for any goalkeeper to achieve such a high success rate. And to further demonstrate this ability, Lammens have also successfully blocked another penalty this season.
However, this deal still has some potential risks. Lammens has only played a full season in his professional career and has not had much experience playing. Man United signed him based on statistics instead of titles. Therefore, there is no guarantee that this goalkeeper will be an upgrade compared to the duo Onana and Altay Bayindir.
The Red Devils' director of football Jason Wilcox clearly has faith in his choices. Onana could replace Bayindir as a goalkeeper after his international break when recovering from a hamstring injury. However, Lammens will soon have the opportunity to compete for an official position, especially when Onana leaves the team to participate in the African Football Cup in December.
On the final day of the transfer window, as Man United sold Antony and Rasmus Hojlund at huge losses, Lammens' arrival showed the club are taking a more cautious approach.
At this time, Ruben Amorim needs immediate results, not just long-term investment. However, this is still a potential deal that could bring great value if Lammens develop as expected.
