Manchester United had a frantic deadline day with many outgoings and the arrival of Senne Lammens, but one masterstroke they pulled off will satisfy fans the most.
Man Utd went into the deadline with a clear list of priorities. They needed to shift many players, especially the exiled ones, and a goalkeeper was on the agenda.
Throughout the day, as the outgoings kept getting finalised, the goalkeeper pendulum swung between Senne Lammens and Emi Martinez.
United ended up with Lammens, whose style of play is tantalising, but, in the process, they pulled off a masterstroke.
Senne Lammens of Manchester United poses with Director of Football Jason Wilcox after signing for the club at Carrington Training Ground on September 01, 2025
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd’s masterstroke en route to Senne Lammens
Once United revived their interest in Martinez, the deal accelerated so quickly that it was almost forgotten that Lammens was United’s preferred choice.
He was even left out of their squad for a game before because Antwerp didn’t want to jeopardise his potential move to Old Trafford.
However, once things hit a snag over the asking price, United pivoted to Martinez, and the matter moved quickly, especially with Jadon Sancho joining Villa on loan.
Ultimately, what transpired can only be described as a pure masterstroke.
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Not only did United manage to offload Sancho on loan, where they barely have to pay him any wages, but Martinez also turned out to be the smokescreen to bend Antwerp’s stance.
The Belgian club’s asking price dropped significantly from the initial ask of about £25 million, with United doing the deal for just £18.2 million initially, and performance-based add-ons taking it to about £20m.
The absence of a sell-on clause for a young player like Lammens can’t be scoffed at either, especially coming from a smaller club on a low fee.
Man Utd fans have been asking for this
It’s not ideal for Emi Martinez, who was bending over backwards to come to Old Trafford, but Man Utd are finally acting like a club that knows what they are doing.
They didn’t panic when they were priced out of a deal for Martinez early in the window, and they held their nerve again when Antwerp were being difficult.
They ended up pitting those two against each other and negotiated the best possible deal for themselves, which is a masterstroke that had so far not been a mark of United.
Ruben Amorim is yet to prove himself on the pitch, but Ineos have definitely proven themselves off it. Gone are the days of panic-buying Antony and Casemiro, or negotiating all summer for Frenkie de Jong before realising the player doesn’t want to come.
This masterstroke needs to turn into a modus operandi soon.