Roy Keane has questioned whether Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens is good enough for the club, saying the Belgian is "costing" the team. Paul Scholes has also expressed doubts about the 2025 signing, who has struggled after a strong first season at Old Trafford.
Keane and Scholes question Lammens
Lammens joined from Royal Antwerp in the summer of 2025 for £18million and impressed initially, but his form has dipped over the last few months. That decline arguably began during the World Cup, when Lammens, who played only 19 minutes, made a major error in the quarter-final defeat to Spain.
Despite strong displays against Everton and in Nations League games for Belgium, Lammens could have done better with some of the 19 goals he has conceded this season. The Lisandro Martinez own goal against Fulham could have been avoided, and he was at fault for Evanilson's goal in the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, having also been beaten at his near post by Rayan earlier in that match.
Speaking on the latest Stick to Football episode, Keane said: "Going back to Manchester United, the goalkeeper is costing them, isn’t he? He was very good last year."
Scholes: Jury still out
Scholes, speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast last month, was also unsure whether Lammens can help United challenge for the title. He said: "What team have you seen win the Premier League without a top-class goalkeeper? Lammens might be that, I don’t know, I think the jury’s probably still out on that. You need a top class goalkeeper."
Scholes pointed to examples of top goalkeepers at rival clubs, including Alisson at Liverpool, David Raya at Arsenal, and United's own Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar. "You start from the back, of course you do," he added.
Bigger problems at United
Though Lammens joined just over 12 months ago, a brutal decision may be required, with other Premier League teams having made similar calls. Raya replaced Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal after a few years, while James Trafford was given only a few weeks as Manchester City's number one before Gianluigi Donnarumma arrived.
United may yet go down that path, but there are far bigger problems across the pitch, in the dugout and in the boardroom. Michael Carrick's future remains uncertain, but the club's hierarchy has given him the opportunity to turn things around. That task starts on Saturday lunchtime at Stamford Bridge with a Premier League clash against Chelsea.
Despite appearing destined to lose his job, Carrick spoke confidently at his Thursday press conference: "I don’t need any assurances from anyone. I totally get the position, I understand the job, I understand the responsibilities, I understand what comes with that, so I really don’t need any assurances from anyone in that regard."
He added: "I said after the game I didn’t expect anything. I was literally dealing with the performance, the result, what it was. There was no hiding the fact dynamics and the atmosphere in the stadium was a little bit different to normal and going through that and digesting that. Purely my mind was ‘what do we need to do to improve things?’"
