Shunning superstar stopper to sign Senne Lammens shows new Man Utd nous | OneFootball

Comparison is the thief of joy, is it? It certainly wasn’t for Manchester United supporters at Everton on Monday night.

As corner after corner rained down on Senne Lammens while the hosts did all they could to pin the goalkeeper to his goal-line, United fans took great pleasure from the mere fact that Andre Onana wasn’t wilting under every single one of them.

We shudder to think how Onana would have managed such a bombardment. Plainly, he would not have coped. The only question is just how messy the situation would have become.

Instead, with Lammens maintaining the cooler-than-the-Fonz approach he has taken to all his United appearances so far, Everton’s main threat was averted.

When the Toffees occasionally considered a different approach, that only served to further highlight the difference a clear mind and a clean pair of hands make to United.

When Tyrique George let fly from distance in added time, United fans still scarred from two seasons of Onana could be forgiven for expecting the wicked drive to swerve and bounce beyond their keeper. Instead, with perfect timing and minimal fuss, Lammens simply dropped on the ball. Unlike Onana, he didn’t parry it back into play. He just killed it.

It is amazing the satisfaction taken from the simple act of catching the ball. But this is Onana’s legacy. Basic competence is blessed relief.

And that is not to denigrate Lammens early accomplishments at United. The 23-year-old, still very much a rookie in goalkeeping terms when he arrived at the end of the summer window, deserves immense credit for taking on the game’s hardest position and making it look a piece of p*ss.

Of course, it helps that United have discovered some defensive solidity after eventually ditching Ruben Amorim and his precious back three. But all the great goalkeepers had great defenders before them. It doesn’t diminish their achievements, and Lammens is as big a factor in United’s improvement as any of those in Michael Carrick’s back four.

Lammens’ form – just his mere presence – is also reassuring in that it offers some encouragement that, at Old Trafford, there is some recruitment nous around the place after all.

Last summer was a very successful window for United. We can question the decision to focus so heavily on their front line at the risk of being left short in midfield – we have, but a change of shape and Amorim’s exit means they should get away it it – but the logic behind the signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko was all solid.

With Lammens, it was different. The obvious goalkeeper for United was Emi Martinez – a World Cup winner and proven as one of the best in the Premier League over a number of seasons. The easiest signing of all to explain would have been Martinez.

Compared to Martinez, Lammens was a nobody. The data United (and presumably many other clubs) held on the 23-year-old was already impressive and offered considerable encouragement that he could cope with learning on the toughest job.

But with a little over 50 Belgian Pro League appearances behind him and not yet an international cap, the contrast between him and the two-time FIFA Best goalkeeper might have buried the deal United agreed with Royal Antwerp if anyone at Old Trafford struggled with the courage of their convictions.

Scepticism of United’s judgement is understandable – it would be weird if everyone wasn’t wary in the wake of so many recruitment blunders in their recent history. But Lammens has already proved that, despite accusations to the contrary, United were not thinking fiscally first when choosing the £18million rookie over the big name with double the price tag and half the shelf life.

One of Lammens’ finest traits means he won’t be getting carried away after a very impressive start. He, along with every goalkeeper – at least the ones who aren’t psychopaths – knows you are only ever one dropped bollock away from being written off. But it seems that Lammens takes the inevitable rough with the hard-earned smooth all while remaining reassuringly confident. And even if he doesn’t feel it, he can fake it, which for a goalkeeper is a precious gift.