Senne Lammens has done his thing at Manchester United. Now, the bar wasn’t particularly high after seasons with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir between the sticks, but the Belgian has shown he can give the United defence the confidence to trust their goalkeeper. However, Paul Scholes is still not entirely convinced. A former Manchester United manager firmly believes United need to go for a Spaniard.
Already in 2022, Manchester United were linked with Unai Simon. The Spanish coach was about to take over the role of David de Gea as the first goalkeeper of the Spanish national team. In the 2026 World Cup, Simon is the first goalkeeper – ahead of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
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Earlier this month, former Man Utd coach Rene Meulensteen stated that the Red Devils should have signed Unai Simon from Athletic Bilbao to replace Lammens.
“Don’t get me wrong, he (Lammens) had a very good season, he made some remarkable saves and he helped United a lot,” Meulensteen begins.
-But would I mention him in the same breath as Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, David de Gea? No. Can he get there? Not sure. I doubt it, because I always do my due diligence on things, and one of the things I felt for him is that he’s still young, but what happened to him in the World Cup is obviously something I identified with him,” the former United coach adds.
“I think really critical people are probably going to look at him with the first goal against Everton, near the post (in the Premier League). For me, if you’re talking about strengthening the squad, you’re talking about the two most important people on the pitch: the goalkeeper and the striker. If one can score goals and the other can make sure he keeps a clean sheet, you have a good chance of winning.”
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“I thought it would have been a very good choice to get him, I would have gone for Unai Simon from Athletic Bilbao. He was so impressive, for me. He was so impressive throughout Spain’s World Cup. He was so on the front foot, read the game well, controlled the back line, and he made all the saves when he was called up. What you then get is a World Cup winner with a presence, and I don’t think Lammens has got that yet. If he can get there, it has to be based on very good performances and consistency,” Meulensteen concludes.
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For him, Man Utd should spend up to 40 million euros for Simon and secure a goalkeeper with “Schmeichel potential”.
