Club scout: Man Utd have secured a player who can be “one of the best in the world”

Coton personally lobbied for Lammens to arrive at Old Trafford last summer, while other club bosses were interested in signing Emiliano Martínez as a replacement for André Onana.

Advertisement

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP TO GET THE LATEST UPDATES AND BREAKING NEWS, RIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! IN APPLE & PLAY ON GOOGLE

Why United signed Lammens instead of Martínez

United even went so far as to agree personal terms with Martínez, the then 32-year-old Aston Villa veteran, before ending their pursuit and going all out for the Belgian.

Coton was able to provide a full scouting report to INEOS, having been following Lammens’ development since he began his career at Club Brugge.

“I saw someone who loved to protect his goal, defend his goal.” Coton told club media last week. “I looked at someone who… it hurt when a goal went in, you know, it meant something because he conceded. He wasn’t happy.”

Advertisement

Since then, the 23-year-old has proven to be a stellar addition between the sticks in U16, with United losing just three times in the 25 appearances he has made.

Lammens has also kept a clean sheet so far and will be desperate to add to his tally in the final seven games of the campaign.

Lammens is now a Belgian international with two caps

His tremendous performances at club level have also seen him rewarded by representing his nation in recent months; He earned his first cap for Belgium in November in a 7-0 win over Liechtenstein, and added a second to his name in a 5-2 win over the United States on 28 March.

Advertisement

Needless to say, the youngster will have his fingers crossed that he does enough between now and the end of the season to be included in Rudi Garcia’s World Cup squad, if only to play as a substitute for starter Thibaut Courtois.

From Coton’s perspective, Lammens already has everything in his box to become one of the best in his position in all of world football.

“If Senne keeps working hard, like he has been doing, he can be one of the best in the world.” said the scoutmaster.