Michael Carrick told £18m Man Utd signing is ‘not at the extent’ | Football

Michael Carrick has been warned that Ruben Amorim’s last signing Senne Lammens is ‘not at the extent’ of Manchester United.

Belgian goalkeeper Lammens accomplished an £18.1m move to Old Trafford from Royal Antwerp on transfer deadline day last summer.

United weren’t expected to sign a brand new shot-stopper but Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir each endured poor starts to the season, forcing the Red Devils to rethink their transfer plans.

It was initially believed that Lammens, 23, would supply competition for one in all Onana or Bayindir, while the opposite could be offloaded, either on loan or a everlasting transfer.

But Lammens immediately impressed Manchester United coaches and shortly emerged as Amorim’s first-choice goalkeeper.

The impression Lammens left on those at United ensured Onana was soon offloaded, joining Turkish club Trabzonspor on loan, while Bayindir has been a everlasting feature on the bench since September.

Lammens has largely impressed between the posts, proving to be a much more reliable figure than Onana or Bayindir ever were, and even received praise from Sir Alex Ferguson earlier within the season.

But Fergie’s former assistant Rene Meulensteen is yet to be convinced by Lammens and sees ‘some weaknesses’ within the Belgium international.

‘While Senne Lammens has done well, he’s not yet at the extent Manchester United needs when it comes to personality, leadership, and certain elements of his goalkeeping,’ he told BetGoat.

‘I still think there are some weaknesses there. Moreover, you’re not in Europe in the mean time, which presents one other challenge altogether when you’ve got to play within the Champions League against big teams.

‘For me, every good, successful team that has won trophies had an excellent goalkeeper, an absolute outstanding goalkeeper.

‘You saw, as an illustration, the save that Gianluigi Donnarumma made on that deflected shot against Liverpool.

‘Otherwise, Liverpool would have gone ahead again. That’s the form of save goalkeepers must make. And I’m not entirely sure whether Lammens is there just yet.’

As for other goalkeepers within the Premier League, Meulensteen has been impressed by Robin Roefs, who has helped Sunderland not only avoid relegation but compete for a top-half finish.

‘Robin Roefs has had a terrific first season within the Premier League,’ Meulensteen added. ‘But playing for Sunderland is a very different challenge than playing for Manchester United.

‘He is excellent. I do know him from Holland because he got here through at NEC in Nijmegen, and he has done extremely well to step up the way in which he has with Sunderland.

‘Sunderland are having an unbelievably unbelievable season. You might have to provide plaudits to Sunderland and everybody working within the background because their recruitment has been spot on, and so they have the precise manager to make them play in the precise way.

‘They’re very hard to beat at home. So, they’ve done great, and Robin Roefs is a large a part of that. All the pieces starts with solidity on the back, the centre-backs know they’ve a goalkeeper behind them.

‘He’s a terrific guy as well, and has a terrific personality. But who knows? It’s not a surprise that clubs are him, that’s needless to say.’

Manchester United, sitting fourth within the Premier League after Michael Carrick’s unbeaten start as caretaker manager, face Everton on Monday night.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the most recent news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Rafael van der Vaart makes controversial Arsenal claim ahead of Totteham clash

MORE: Paul Merson urges Mikel Arteta to drop Arsenal star for Tottenham clash

MORE: Owen Hargreaves blasts ‘mind-blowing’ Ruben Amorim decision before Manchester United sacking