Man Utd legend BLASTS Amorim transfer choice and admits 'I had never even heard of him!'

Suraj Radia

18 Sept 2025 18:00 BST
3 min read

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel believes his former side made a mistake in signing Senne Lammens and admitted he had never heard of the club’s new goalkeeper.

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Lammens joined United on deadline day for €21 million from Belgian side Antwerp, with the 23-year-old having been considered a standout player for his side during his first full senior campaign.

Current ETV

Senne Lammens

Man Utd

Senne Lammens

Man Utd

ETV Range

€9.8M - €12M

United had been desperate to replace Andre Onana and had been in talks to sign Emi Martinez from Aston Villa before moving for Sammens – a decision which Schmeichel feels is the wrong one.

“We should have signed Emi Martinez. In fact, we should have gone for Gianluigi Donnarumma when we had the chance,” Schmeichel told Sky Bet. “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.

“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.”

Lammens suffers criticism from Man Utd legends

Lammens has yet to make his debut for his new side, with Altay Bayindir still preferred to start by Ruben Amorim, but the Belgian has come under fire from a number of United legends who have felt underwhelmed by his arrival, while the youngster's brother admitted he had doubts over moving to Old Trafford.

© IMAGO - Senne Lammens has yet to make his debut for Man Utd.

In addition to Schmeichel’s comments, Paul Scholes also felt his former club should have gone for Donnarumma, who joined rivals Manchester City, and claimed that Lammens was not a ‘top goalkeeper’ in comparison.

“The price they paid tells me he’s not a top goalkeeper,” Scholes said on The Good, the Bad and the Football Podcast. Donnarumma is the biggest mistake I can see. As soon as he’s available, give PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] what they want.

"I hope they had a conversation and he said he didn’t want to come. It’s a criminal offence if the head of recruitment wasn’t in for him.”