Senne Lammens put in awkward spot as Man Utd dressing room claim made

Senne Lammens was put in an awkward position on his first day at the Carrington Training Complex. The 23-year-old goalkeeper has already made quite the impression at Manchester United following his £18m move from Royal Antwerp in the transfer window, but he had a bit of a rocky start.

According to GiveMeSport, sections of the dressing room 'strongly pushed' higher-ups at Old Trafford to sign Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa. The 33-year-old shot-stopper was heavily linked with a move for much of the summer following what looked like an emotional farewell on the final day of last season.

Despite approval from people in Ruben Amorim's circle, United turned their attention to Lammens. The Red Devils managed to wrap up a deal for the Belgian on deadline day before sending Andre Onana out on loan to Trabzonspor.

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Lammens arrived at Carrington knowing that many of his new colleagues would rather have somebody else between the sticks. The youngster, who made more saves than any other goalkeeper in Europe's top 10 leagues last season, was made to wait for his debut.

Altay Bayindir had started each of United's first six games of the Premier League season before he was dropped for the Sunderland clash. In the final game before the October international break, Amorim handed Lammens his first start – and he certainly caught the eye.

He quickly took leadership of the Red Devils' backline, commanding his penalty area with great confidence. Lammens was also often seen – and heard by those in the ground – barking orders at his defenders.

The Stretford End faithful even serenaded him with chants of, 'Are you Schmeichel in disguise?' paying their new goalkeeper the ultimate compliment. According to the i Paper, Lammens has made just as much of an impression off the pitch since his awkward introduction at Carrington.

The report claims he's always the first to arrive and the last to leave, going above and beyond to improve his game. It's that the United staff have also been taken aback by his maturity, having already sorted out his own private long-term accommodation.

Speaking to reporters following United's 2-0 win over Sunderland, Amorim heaped Lammens with praise. The Portuguese boss said: "Yeah, I think he looks confident in the first game.

"But, [the] important thing is that the teammates help Senne to have a good game, because everyone was focused, not a lot of mistakes, against a team that was really comfortable playing football. So, we did well, [it] was a good day for us."

Amorim added: "When Senne arrived here, first of all, Altay was playing, and then he arrives, and you can feel it, that he needs to adapt. New country, new training, the pressure that you guys put on the goalkeepers are massive.

"So, it was like a little preparation for the guy to be ready to start his first game. But now, it's just one game, and he needs to work because he needs to be prepared that in our club, things are really hard.

"But he did well, and again, he was comfortable during the game and that is a very good sign."

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