Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens earned widespread praise in recent weeks for his performances against Sunderland and Liverpool.
Senne Lammens and Altay Bayindir are battling for the No.1 spot at Manchester United
Senne Lammens and Altay Bayindir are battling for the No.1 spot at Manchester United
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Former England goalkeeper David James has identified one aspect of Senne Lammens's game that he should look to improve, while insisting Altay Bayindir's career at Old Trafford is not in jeopardy.
After Andre Onana picked up an injury in training, Bayindir was handed the opportunity to be the starting goalkeeper at Old Trafford. Once fully fit, Onana could not force his way back into the starting line-up as the Turk kept his place in the Premier League.
Following a shaky outing in the defeat to Grimsby Town, Onana was shipped out on loan to Trabzonspor with Lammens having arrived on deadline day. Ruben Amorim took the decision to introduce Lammens to the Premier League against Sunderland.
Since then, the Belgian has not looked back and is expected to make his third Premier League start against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday. Speaking to MEN Sport on behalf of AskGamblers, James explained what he has spotted about Lammens that he needs to work on.
"I did a little study on him before he played for United, and I think in his last 15 goals conceded, he'd only dived once," the 55-year-old explained. "Now, in itself, that might not be a problem because any goal could not be a fault of his in which he needed to dive, but it happened again on Sunday.
"I know the cross came through a player's leg, but weirdly, this happens more often with him than I've seen with any other goalkeeper. So there are bits that he'll have to improve on.
"But I think he's got the capabilities of being number one. Bayindir is the challenger at the moment, and Tom Heaton's in there as well. He's got the perfect environment to be able to take that position and keep it.
Senne Lammens celebrates with his Manchester United teammates after their victory against Liverpool
Senne Lammens celebrates with his Manchester United teammates
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"With Onana out at the moment, if he's playing at the levels that he could be playing at, possibly, then they won't be looking for Onana to come back in, which will be a confidence boost for him and a confidence boost for the recruitment team for bringing in the right goalkeeper."
Some have suggested Bayindir may look to move on if his playing time does not increase. However, James insists that the Turkey international still has the opportunity to play a key role with United.
"Because of his age, I think he's in a good position to have that battle with Lammens," the former goalkeeper concluded.
"Onana's been there for a number of seasons, and he's created the opinion over a long period of time. I think the two young goalkeepers would say they could have a wonderful time, especially if Amorim is looking to chop and change, then theoretically they both could play particularly well and give themselves longevity and it could be a bit like Shay Given and Steve Harper at Newcastle, where you could have two top drawer goalkeepers for many years.
"So again, it looks like a fantastic battle looking forward."
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