Manchester United have not regretted allowing Andre Onana to join Trabzonspor for the remainder of this season
Manchester United goalkeepers Senne Lammens and Andre Onana
Manchester United goalkeepers Senne Lammens and Andre Onana(Image: Getty Images)
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Manchester United's horror show in Grimsby back in August was enough for Ruben Amorim to conclude that enough was enough. Andre Onana missed most of pre-season due to injury but was determined to stick it out and stay at Old Trafford this season.
Despite returning to fitness at the start of the season, Onana did not reclaim his position as the Reds' No.1 as Altay Bayindir continued between the sticks. Any hope of a return to prominence in the squad vanished at Blundell Park.
Onana had an atrocious game as United exited the competition on penalties. That loss came on August 27, and by September 1 Senne Lammens had joined from Royal Antwerp. 10 days later, Onana left to join Trabzonspor for the remainder of this season.
It was a brutal succession plan implemented by Amorim. Bayindir was given a chance to stake his claim and keep Lammens out of the starting line-up, but a couple of poor showings ensured the Belgian was drafted in - and the Reds have not looked back since.
Such was the delight with Lammens' early form, United supporters quickly compared him to Peter Schmeichel. There is no denying the Reds' goalkeeping department is a lot stronger than it was in the 2024/25 campaign.
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You can tell United are calmer in defence because there is trust in Lammens' ability. When you take a closer look at the stats, it seems a major change has been made to help the goalkeeper. In this comparison, we have taken Lammens' numbers in the Premier League and compared them to Onana's in the top flight last season.
Currently, Lammens has played 20 matches in the Premier League compared to Onana's 34 last season. At the moment, they are averaging roughly the same number of goals conceded per game (1.29 to 1.3 in Onana's favour).
Lammens has kept four clean sheets in his first 20 games in the Premier League, while Onana secured nine in total. The two goalkeepers are therefore on course to have roughly the same number of clean sheets by the time the season ends.
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But when you delve into the individual numbers, you can see a clear shift in styles between the two shot-stoppers. According to DataMB, Lammens' save percentage is down at just 16.3 per cent compared to Onana's 39.3 per cent.
However, the Belgian has been better in aerial duels with 54.4 per cent of those won compared to 47.5 per cent by Onana. A clear change can be seen when analysing the two shot-stoppers' distribution.
Onana's passing statistics are impressive with 73.1 per cent completed but just under 69 per cent of those passes were short. The Cameroonian only went long a quarter of the time, whereas Lammens favours going direct with the ball with just 16 per cent of his passes being short.
As such, his pass completion is down at just 12.2 per cent. What the data points to is a change in what United want from their goalkeeper.
Erik ten Hag wanted United to build from the back, hence why David de Gea was replaced by Onana. He wanted a goalkeeper who was better with the ball at his feet.
Had United continued to hammer home Ten Hag's passing philosophy, Lammens could have been in trouble. Instead, the Reds are playing to his strengths and it is paying dividends.
When you compare the quality of shots faced to goals conceded, Lammens has a PSxG -GA (Post shot expected goals minus goals allowed) rating of 59.9, over the course of 90 minutes, compared to Onana's 51.2. This, simply put, means Lammens is preventing more goals than he is expected to concede in 90 minutes, compared to the Reds' former goalkeeper, despite having a significantly lower save percentage.
So what can we take from this? Well, they do not prove United have replaced Onana with the second coming of Schmeichel. But they do suggest Lammens is making the saves that count. And they suggest the move away from a ball-playing goalkeeper policy has improved United.
Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding. United look more assured with Lammens in goal and you can tell the centre-backs have more faith in him.
It is also crucial to remember Lammens is not as experienced as Onana. The room for improvement with Lammens is much higher and with time the 23-year-old should prove to be a much wiser investment than his predecessor.