Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was confused by the club’s decision to sign inexperienced Senne Lanmen from Royal Antwerp during the summer transfer period
Peter Schmeichel has denounced Manchester United for signing Senne Ranmens before Emi Martinez and Gianluigi Donnaruma this summer. United paid Royal Antwerp goalkeeper £18.2 million during the summer transfer period after Reuben Amorim decided to replace Andre Onana.
Onana has been loaned to Trabzons Poll this season, with Runmen competing with Altai Bay Indeal at the starting XI location. The Bay Indeals maintained his place in the Manchester Derby starting XI on Sunday, but a 3-0 loss means Lammens can make their debut against Chelsea this weekend.
Runmen is 23 years old and only plays in Belgium. So stepping up at United is a big deal. Schmeichel spent eight years at United and is one of the club’s greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is not at all certain of United’s decision, as he had no idea of Lammen before he arrived.
“As for Runmen, I’m honestly never heard of him until Link appeared,” Schmeichel told the Sun. “I know his statistics are excellent in the top 10 leagues in Europe, but that was with Belgian Antwerp on the team that finished fifth.
read more: Jose Mourinho will officially return to his former club after comment from Reuben Amorimread more: 5 Things Ruben Amorim must change immediately in Man Utd before a bag meeting
“He saved four of the eight penalties, but the statistical recruitment is purely based on statistics. The statistics don’t show how they react after a mistake or how they deal with Manchester United’s pressure. That pressure is different from other places in football.”
Ranmens has never been called to the Belgian senior team, and Schmeichel feels that United would be better off paying more to more established players. They considered signing Martinez from Aston Villa and Donnaruma before leaving Paris Saint-Germain for their Manchester City rivals.
“Ranmen’s could turn out to be the best signature ever, but for now it feels like something full of hope. “If you signed him with Martinez, it would have made perfect sense. The World Cup winner is number one, with a talented young keeper developing behind him.
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United took £47 million to sign Onana from Inter Milan two summers ago, but were reluctant to pay the £40 million villa quoted for Martinez, or the substantial wages Donnaruma had requested. While this position was a long-term problem for Amorim, United chose to spend more than £200 million on additional attacks from Brian Mbeumo, Mash Kuña and Benjamin Sesco.
“We should have signed Emi Martinez. In fact, we should have gone to Gianluigi Donnaruma when we had the chance,” Schmeichel said. “It was all lined up with Martinez and that felt like the good news.
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