Some Manchester United players were pushing for the club to sign Aston Villa star Emi Martinez this summer instead of Senne Lammens, according to Andy Mitten.
The Red Devils had a busy summer transfer window strengthening their attack for Ruben Amorim, before completing a deadline day deal to bolster their goalkeeper department with the arrival of the 23-year-old Belgian from Royal Antwerp.
The club made a final decision to bring in Lammens over Martinez, who has been described as ‘world-class’, despite holding talks for both players, and he finally made his debut for the club against Sunderland over the weekend, earning big praise for his performance that helped the team claim victory.
Man Utd Players Wanted Martinez Over Lammens
While discussing his role in the win on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Mitten revealed to his fellow co-hosts that there were people in the dressing room pushing for Martinez’s arrival, but ultimately, the club decided to go for the younger option in Lammens.
“He has been brought in to be Manchester United’s number one. I’m told that he’s training well, but I’m also told that it will take some time for him to get to that point.
“I’m not watching him training, I’m not making the decision. I love the idea of a 23-year-old being properly scouted and recommended and coming in, because the alternative was Emi Martinez.
“There were people in the Man Utd dressing room strongly pushing for Emi Martinez, people of his nationality, granted, but I like the idea of building a foundation for the future with younger players, ideally, Premier League proven, which isn’t always going to be possible.”
Lammens was made to wait for his Man Utd debut with Amorim initially sticking with Turkey international Altay Bayindir for games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Brentford.
However, the more experienced stopper failed to instill confidence in his defence or the fan base, and the decision was made for Lammens to finally get the nod this past weekend. Lammens made some big saves during the game, including from Granit Xhaka and Chemsdine Talbi, while the Old Trafford crowd applauded every time he claimed a high cross too.
It’s now hoped that Lammens can push on and establish himself as the undisputed number one goalkeeper, with the club set to travel to Anfield to take on champions Liverpool after the international break.