Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens says he welcomes the pressure of playing for one of football’s most scrutinised positions and hopes to earn comparisons with the club’s legendary shot-stoppers.
Manchester United’s new goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, says he is not intimidated by the pressure that comes with guarding one of football’s most closely watched goals.
In his first external interview with BBC Sport ahead of United’s Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest, the 23-year-old Belgian said: “Of course, you hear from other people there is a lot of pressure coming here and playing for this team. But I welcome that. Firstly, it is nice you can play for such a big team. There should be a lot of pressure — I’m not really scared of it.”
Lammens, who joined United from Royal Antwerp for £18.1 million, has impressed fans after replacing Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, earning chants of “Are you Schmeichel in disguise?” during his debut. “I’m not Schmeichel in disguise. I am just Senne Lammens trying to help the team,” he said.
He attributed United’s recent tactical shift to longer balls as a coaching decision, stressing that being “realistic” against strong opponents like Liverpool was crucial.
The Belgian praised his defensive partners Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt for helping him settle, saying: “They told me I don’t need to be the most amazing or special goalkeeper, just to be there in important moments to give the team trust.”