Ruben Amorim has confirmed that new signing Senne Lammens won’t start the Manchester derby, instead preferring Altay Bayindir. But three Manchester United stars will miss the game through injury. Lammens, 23, was snapped up from Royal Antwerp on transfer deadline day, with the Red Devils agreeing to shell out an initial £18.2million plus £3.5m in add-ons for the Belgian shot-stopper.
Speculation immediately began over who would be handed the gloves when United face arch-rivals Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. However, Amorim has put an end to the guesswork more than 48 hours before kick-off.
“Different league, different country, different ball,” the Red Devils chief said at his pre-match press conference when questioned if Lammens would start. “They will fight for the position. It is clear. Altay will start. He’s ready to play, he will play.”
Bayindir, who featured in all three of United’s opening Premier League fixtures before the international break, failed to get on the pitch for Turkey last week, remaining as an unused substitute whilst his country shipped eight goals across two matches. The ex-Fenerbahce keeper arrived at United in September 2024 for £4.3m.
“We are really pleased [with Lammens],” Amorim added. “He is a goalkeeper with a lot of potential. We are in a moment where the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience, but we also have to look at the present, with a focus on the future, so it’s a bit of both. He will be ready.
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“Sometimes you as a club you try to see different options. We have an option [in Lammens] who can give us different things in this moment, but who also has a great potential to be our goalkeeper for a number of years.”
Lammens is expected to feature amongst the substitutes, unlike three of his new colleagues. Amorim revealed that Diogo Dalot, Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha will all be sidelined through injury.
“They are out for this game,” said Amorim. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take. We need those guys to be a very competitive team, but we have very good players who are eager to play.
“I don’t want to say [how long they will be out for]. If you talk with Cunha, he will say he can play this game, so I don’t know. We’ll manage day by day.”
The door has been opened for Lammens and Bayindir to compete for the starting jersey following Andre Onana’s departure to Trabzonspor on loan.
“Andre had a very good season and the quality is there, but in the club sometimes things are getting harder and harder and at this club the pressure is so hard in every detail, so sometimes you need a change,” Amorim explained.
“I think we – and Andre – understood that this needed a change and sometimes it’s hard to point out why. Sometimes it’s the moment, the bad luck in some moments, it’s hard on him and on us.
“Our thinking was to have a change in the goalkeepers but I wish the best for Andre, he was really good, working and trying to help the players, but sometimes you can have all the quality in the world but you need a change.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk