Ruben Amorim has urged Manchester United fans to calm their expectations of young goalkeeper Senne Lammens, after the 23-year-old shined on his Red Devils debut against Sunderland prior to the international break. The United head coach suggested that the Belgian has not yet earned comparisons with club legend shot-stoppers such as Peter Schmeichel, but that he showed "a lot of composure" and could start against Liverpool on Sunday.
Amorim praises Lammens but waves away Schmeichel comparisons
Speaking in his press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday’s crunch North West derby against Liverpool, Amorim stated how impressed he was with Lammens against Sunderland but suggested he is “not impossible” to drop ahead of the weekend.
Amorim reinforced how impressed he has been with Lammens but made sure to emphasise that he is not yet the finished article, and must continue to fight and earn his place in the team in the coming weeks. He played down comparisons with the legendary Schmeichel, who recently gave his verdict on United's new shot-stopper.
The former Royal Antwerp starlet was signed for an initial £18million (€21m/$24m) on deadline day but initially found himself forced to settle for a spot on the substitutes’ bench as Altay Bayindir was preferred by Amorim in goal.
But the Turkiye international has never greatly impressed, and it was believed that Lammens would ultimately be given the opportunity to take his place. That opportunity arrived against an in-form Black Cats side, and he did his job to a good standard as he made three saves on the way to a clean sheet on his Premier League debut in the cauldron which is Old Trafford.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'He is not Schmeichel yet' – Amorim on Lammens
“Nothing is impossible [regarding if Lammens is impossible to drop]. You have to prove during the week but, of course, he did a great job. It is possible that he is going to start the game. The first impression in this club is really important; to maintain the level is even more important and is really difficult.”
Responding to fans claiming Lammens is the ‘new Schmeichel’: “He’s not Schmeichel yet. He’s a young guy with talent. He showed a lot of composure, and the fans liked it. But again, that is in the past; we need to prove in the next game.”
Lammens has shown talent but has a long way to go, suggests Amorim
Amorim is completely reasonable to temper fans’ expectations following just one appearance by such a young goalkeeper. But his talent is evident, proven by his astounding statistics at Antwerp last season. A ridiculous total of 18.4 goals prevented stands out, as do his 77.4% save percentage and total of 173 saves in just the league alone. The player's brother recently spoke about some of the secrets of Lammens' game, claiming he became a goalkeeper to "avoid running and being substituted".
United certainly have a potential star on their hands, but the Portuguese would be smart to continue to ease him into the side to avoid too much pressure on his young shoulders straight away.
As it is easy to forget how highly-rated Andre Onana was when he arrived at the club in 2023. But his time at Old Trafford went south fairly quickly as the pressure and the goalkeeping errors began to mount up, to the point where he was a shadow of his former Inter Milan and Ajax self.
Man United gear up for crunch Liverpool clash
Ahead of the 100th match at Anfield between Liverpool and Man United, Amorim was reminded of the Red Devils’ trip there last season, which ended in a 2-2 draw: “Yeah, I remember it, we played well, it was a draw. I was really upset in the end of the game because we proved, on that day, that we can compete against any opponents. I know that it's special for our club. I know that they are fighting all the time for the titles, the number of titles. I know what it means to the fans, but again, it's one game that we need to prove again, that we are playing better. I think we are playing better. We need to do better in both boxes. So, it's one more game that we need to win.
"Sometimes, things change really fast but, if you see the history of both clubs, you can feel that sometimes you have one club that is winning, winning, winning, the other club is having a bad moment. That happened with Liverpool, when Manchester United was winning everything, and that happened with United, when Liverpool was winning everything. So, we just have to acknowledge that, to be really honest with the fans. But we can win any game, so if we think about just winning the next game, that is the most important thing. We can win the next game. If we are going to fight to be at the same level as Liverpool in the future, that is the idea. I don't know how long it is going to take.”