Peter Schmeichel gives his verdict on Senne Lammens

Peter Schmeichel gives his verdict on Senne Lammens
Source: Daily Mail Online

Legendary Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has given his assessment on the Red Devils' new shot stopper Senne Lammens.

Goalkeeper Lammens joined United for £18.2million in the summer transfer window, replacing flop Andre Onana, who departed for Trabzonspor on loan in the same window.

But he had to wait until the weekend to make his debut, initially playing back-up to Altay Bayindir until making the step up to the side's No 1 in the 2-0 win over Sunderland at the weekend.

Though he only had three saves to make at Old Trafford, the 23-year-old looked assured as he commanded his box and played with the ball at his feet in what was a successful debut.

That led to chants of 'are you Schmeichel in disguise?' from sections of the home fans, which were played to the legendary Dane - who made 398 appearances for the Red Devils by 5 Live on Monday.

Schmeichel laughed as he listened to the chant, and was then asked for his thoughts by host Mark Chapman.

Peter Schmeichel has given his verdict on Manchester United's new £18.2m goalkeeper Senne Lammens

Lemmens has been brought into be United's new first choice but had to wait until the weekend for his debut

'Thank you for playing that,' Schmeichel began, chuckling away.
He added: 'You think about the goalkeeping that we have had over the last couple of years and how many goals we have conceded from errors from goalkeepers. What was it, nine errors already this season?
'That's a lot, it's too much. I go back to when I played - my instruction was - and I think it was the same think with [Edwin van der Sar] and David De Gea, we had to save the team 10 points a season, not give them away.
'That's what we have got used to in the last couple of years - goalkeepers giving goals away, and therefore we're losing points. So it's nice to see first of all a clean sheet, then a really good and solid goalkeeping performance.'

It is a change of tune from Schmeichel, who initially questioned the recruitment of Lammens.

He told SunSport through Sky Bet last month: 'We should have signed Emi Martinez. In fact, we should have gone for Gianluigi Donnarumma when we had the chance.'

'With Martinez, everything was lined up and that felt like really good news, because he's exactly the kind of goalkeeper Manchester United should have.'

The 23-year-old Lammens is regarded as a top prospect but there are plenty of unknowns about whether he can cope with the pressure of the No 1 shirt at United.

Schmeichel had initially criticised the decision to sign Lammens, suggesting United should have looked elsewhere.

Schmeichel added: 'As for Lammens, I'll be honest, I'd never heard of him until the link came up.
'I know his stats are excellent across the top ten European leagues. But that was with Antwerp in Belgium, in a team that finished fifth.
'Stats don't show how you react after a mistake, or how you cope with the pressure of Manchester United. That pressure is unlike anywhere else in football.'

The legendary former stopper described Lammens as a 'risk', when proven certainties were there to be recruited.