A ‘normal guy’ doing ‘brilliant’ things – Lammens on life at Man Utd

Just a normal guy – a role model to show anyone what can be achieved.

By that personal assessment, Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens proves he is not your usual Premier League star.

The Belgium international accepts he tries to avoid “box-office stuff” on the pitch.

Off it, the low-key 23-year-old is the same.

The easy way he speaks to pupils at a local primary school in a question-and-answer session, and plays with them in the playground, offer a fascinating insight into the character of a man who less than 48 hours earlier was memorably described as being “bloody brilliant” by David Moyes for his performance in a 1-0 win at Everton.

“I try to show the world I’m just a normal guy, show these children that everyone can make it,” Lammens says at the World Book Day event on behalf of United’s foundation.

“There are people who have a mindset and lifestyle that’s a little different to me. There’s nothing wrong with that. But also, it probably makes the children feel it is more difficult to get there.

“It’s one of my best feelings when you get into those classes and see the children cheering for you with open eyes and they don’t believe it. It’s not that long ago I was there. I can still remember those times.

Moyes’ assessment came partly due to an eye-catching save Lammens made to deny a long-range effort from Michael Keane that was heading for the top corner at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

But mainly it was for the unfussy way the £18.1m summer signing from Royal Antwerp dealt with a succession of corners fired into his six-yard box.

The trust that exists between Lammens and his defenders is clear – and there is growing faith from United’s supporters too.

“The first thing you have to do as a goalkeeper is make saves,” says Lammens. “But I take a lot of pride in doing the other things well.

“Maybe it’s not always the box-office stuff but if you know a little bit about goalkeeping, that’s as important for your team-mates to trust you and help out the team.”

Former United keeper Edwin van der Sar offered a positive assessment of Lammens’ abilities on Sky Sports on Monday.

Current Belgium number one Thibaut Courtois has also spoken highly of his compatriot.

But, when asked for his own role model, Lammens looks to Germany.

“My biggest idol was probably Manuel Neuer,” he said.

“I take pride in being an all-round goalkeeper. That’s why I was such a big fan of his. He didn’t really have something that was clearly not the best thing in his game.”

United’s goalkeeping scout Tony Coton pushed for Lammens’ signing – against the wishes of Ruben Amorim, who had wanted to bring in World Cup winner Emi Martinez from Aston Villa.

It was a huge call. So far, it has been justified.

Veteran Tom Heaton, United’s third-choice goalkeeper, has been a big help, offering Lammens useful advice about not trying to chase the game.

Moyes marvelled at the way United’s new number one dealt with Everton’s bombardment of corners, which drew criticism from some – but Lammens accepts as part of the game.

“I was always told England was the best league, but that physicality is the biggest difference,” he said. “It’s always been a strength of mine, even in Belgium.

“Now there are more bodies in front of you. You have to be big and not be pushed around easily. My physical features are positive for those situations. In training, you have to visualise these things and all the bodies you are trying to navigate.

“It can’t get to the point where it is too much, but I enjoy it, getting out of my comfort zone.”

Away from Carrington, Lammens prefers to switch off from the high-pressure environment of top-flight football. He is more likely to be found watching basketball than Premier League games on TV.

But the Belgian’s status at United is now established. Altay Bayindir will not be replacing him any time soon and the idea Andre Onana might come back from his loan spell in Turkey to reclaim the number-one role is fanciful.

However, perhaps predictably, Lammens is not getting ahead of himself.

“I said a couple weeks ago I couldn’t imagine it going any better, but I don’t want to look to the past too much,” he says.

Lammens was not supposed to be Manchester United’s number-one goalkeeper this soon. It is easily forgotten Bayindir started the first six Premier League games of the season.

Just 10 days after Lammens signed from Royal Antwerp, Onana – first-choice for the previous two campaigns – was loaned to Trabzonspor after a calamitous error in United’s shock EFL Cup defeat by Grimsby Town.

Three defeats in six with Bayindir between the sticks led Amorim to give the Belgian a chance against Sunderland and he has not looked back.

Monday night’s commanding performance at Everton was Lammens’ 21st consecutive league start under three head coaches.

One metric where he does stand out is in his goals prevented rate, which Opta say evaluates “a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping efficiency by comparing the quality of shots they faced to the number of goals they actually conceded”.

It may not be one for the purists, but data experts say goals prevented rate is a better way of measuring a keeper’s individual performance than say, clean sheets, which are more of a collective defensive effort.

In the top flight this season, only Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen and Everton’s Jordan Pickford rank higher for goals prevented, while only Aston Villa’s Martinez – who United enquired about last summer – has a better goals prevented rate.

Lammens only made his senior debut for Belgium two months after signing for United.