Altay Bayindir will retain his place in goal for Manchester United in Sunday’s derby against neighbours City – but head coach Ruben Amorim says new arrival Senne Lammens has potential to be first choice “for a number of years”.
United signed Lammens, 23, for £18.1m from Belgium top-flight club Royal Antwerp on deadline day in preference to World Cup winner Emi Martinez, who was ready to leave Aston Villa.
With Andre Onana leaving for Turkish outfit Trabzonspor on loan, it has created uncertainty over the status Amorim’s current number one.
Bayindir has started all three Premier League games so far this season – making mistakes that led to goals against Arsenal and Burnley – and will retain the job at Etihad Stadium.
However, Amorim thinks Lammens offers plenty of promise.
“He has great potential to be our goalkeeper for a number of years,” he said.
“Sometimes as a club, you try to see different options. We are in a moment where the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience.
“But as well as looking at the present, we must have a focus on the future.”
Although Bayindir, 27, only made his Premier League debut in April, he has played 10 times for Turkey and has vastly more experience than Lammens, who had had just one season as a top-flight regular.
It makes the decision to let Bayindir continue relatively straightforward.
“It is a different league, different country, different ball,” said Amorim. “Altay is going to continue.”
Onana has more experience than anyone else, including winning a Serie A title with Inter Milan and playing in a Champions League final defeat by Manchester City in 2023.
Yet at United, the Cameroon international has not looked confident.
He was injured at the start of pre-season training this summer and made mistakes that led to both Grimsby goals as United lost to a fourth-tier outfit for the first time in the EFL Cup last month, beaten on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
That game proved to be the end for Onana. He is unlikely to return to the club once his loan expires at the end of the season, even though his United contract runs to 2028.
“The quality is there but at this club the pressure is so hard in every detail, sometimes you need a change,” said Amorim.
“It’s hard to point why. It’s the performance, the moments, the bad luck. It is hard on him and hard on us.
“I wish the best for Andre but sometimes, you can have all the quality in the world but you need to change the environment to return to your level.
“That was the feeling, not just from us, but also from Andre.”
