Peter Schmeichel has criticised Manchester United's decision to sign Senne Lammens, saying the club should have pursued Emiliano Martinez or Gianluigi Donnarumma instead. The former United goalkeeper admitted he had never heard of Lammens before the transfer link emerged.
United paid £18.2 million for the Royal Antwerp goalkeeper in the summer window after Ruben Amorim decided to replace Andre Onana, who was loaned to Trabzonspor. Lammens, 23, has only played in Belgium and is yet to make his debut, competing with Altay Bayindir for the starting spot.
Schmeichel told The Sun: '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 10 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.'
The club considered Martinez and Donnarumma but were unwilling to meet Aston Villa's £40 million valuation or Donnarumma's wage demands. Instead, they spent over £200 million on attackers Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.
'We should have signed Emi Martinez. In fact, we should have gone for Gianluigi Donnarumma when we had the chance,' Schmeichel added. 'Lammens could turn out to be the best signing ever – but right now, it feels like a hopeful one, and that’s not what United need.'
