Senne Lammens to miss Antwerp game as Manchester United move draws near

Senne Lammens is nearing a move to Manchester United

Senne Lammens is set to miss Royal Antwerp’s match against Mechelen on Sunday due to his €20m (£17m) proposed transfer to Manchester United.

The current plan is that the 23-year-old goalkeeper has been stood down from the Pro League fixture, which kicks off at 12.30pm, with United expecting his move to become official imminently.

Ruben Amorim wants to sign Lammens as competition to André Onana, who has been United’s No 1 but has come under scrutiny. While the Cameroonian is believed to have travelled to west London for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League game at Fulham, his starting place is in the balance.

The 29-year-old Onana was left out of the squad for the opening-day loss to Arsenal last weekend. His replacement, Altay Bayindir, made an error that directly led to Riccardo Calafiori’s winning goal at Old Trafford.

Onana expects to remain at Manchester United beyond the current transfer window, having been made aware that the club have rebuffed inquiries from other clubs for his services — but he is now poised to face further pressure for his place from Lammens.

Lammens is a 6’3” Belgium Under-21 international who made his senior debut for Club Brugge in July 2021 before moving to Antwerp two years later. His first appearance for the club was that November, in a 2-0 Champions League defeat by Porto.

Bayindir currently earns around £80,000 per week, so if Lammens does join United, he can expect a similar salary. Onana is also likely to miss part of the season because of his involvement in Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco.

— The Guardian