Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens for around €20 million, with the 23-year-old expected to compete with André Onana.
Onana’s place at United has been under scrutiny following a string of unconvincing displays after his arrival from Inter for £44.4 million in July 2023. The Cameroon international was left out of the squad for the opening-day loss to Arsenal last weekend only to see his replacement, Altay Bayindir, make an error that directly led to Riccardo Calafiori’s winning goal.
Onana expects to remain at United beyond the current transfer window having been made aware that the club have rebuffed enquiries for his services but he is now poised to face further pressure for his place from Lammens.
The 6ft 3in Belgium under-21 international made his senior debut for Club Brugge in July 2021 before moving to Antwerp two years later, making a first appearance for the club that November in a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Porto. Sources in Belgium suggest United have agreed terms with the player but it is understood that is not yet the case.
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Onana is likely to miss part of the season due to his involvement in Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco. Their opening match is against Gabon on Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim says it is “not a good thing” to have four first-team players training away from the squad and not being considered for selection. Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia, and have been working separately since the start of preseason as they seek moves away from Old Trafford.
None of the four were included in the squad for United’s preseason tour, nor did they feature in the opening-day defeat to Arsenal. They will also not be part of the squad that travels to Fulham on Sunday. United will ideally seal exits, permanent or temporary, for the quartet before the transfer window closes on September 1st. But if they do not leave, Amorim is open to reintegrating them into his squad.
“I know that is not a good thing to have players in this situation but it’s clear they want to play in a different club and that is clear,” Amorim said. “We try to arrange everything for both parties to be happy, so I have to try to imagine to have the training with the guys that I think are going to be the future and the other guys are training and preparing for the next chapter. When the window is closed it’s a different history, we have to receive the players and in a new life.”
Garnacho has attracted interest from Chelsea; Sancho has held talks with Roma, Antony could potentially return to Real Betis where he spent the second half of last season on loan, and Malacia is a target for Celtic, Besiktas and Porto. United are yet to sell a player for a fee this summer. Of the senior players under contract, only Marcus Rashford has departed. The England forward joined Barcelona on a season-long loan, with the Catalan club covering his wages.
Benjamin Sesko is likely to start in attack at Craven Cottage after coming off the bench for his debut against Arsenal last Sunday.
Speaking about the situation in goal, Amorim said: “Onana is ready to play like last week, so we will see in the game who is going to be the goalkeeper.” – Guardian
