Brother of Man United Summer Signing Admits Wanting Him to Move Somewhere Else

One of Manchester United’s seven summer signings moved to Old Trafford despite a close family member urging him to go elsewhere.

United splashed £232.4 million on new recruits in the off-season, the fifth-highest spend of any club in a record-breaking Premier League window.

Matheus Cunha arrived from Wolves for £62.5m, Benjamin Sesko moved from RB Leipzig for £74m and Bryan Mbeumo joined for Brentford in a £65m deal. United also signed Diego Leon, Enzo Kana-Biyik and Harley Emsden-James.

But it was goalkeeper Senne Lammens whose switch to Old Trafford defied the advice of his brother.

Lammens signed from Royal Antwerp for £18.2m plus £3.5m in add-ons on deadline day, choosing United over Premier League rivals Aston Villa — who offered the Belgian club more money.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper had also attracted interest from Galatasaray, who have been Turkish Super Lig champions in each of the past three seasons.

Brother of Senne Lammens didn’t want him to join Man United

Senne’s older brother Tom, who plays for Belgian lower-league side Borsbeek, has admitted he was “sceptical” when United came calling.

“There’s a lot of quality, you play for trophies there [at Galatasaray], and Senne could perhaps immediately make his mark in the Champions League,” Tom told Nieuwsblad.

“I was initially sceptical about a move to United, because many players there had already succumbed to the pressure and couldn’t reach their full potential.”

Tom insisted he was not against the transfer, but felt his younger sibling might have developed faster in Turkey. Nevertheless, he accepted the final call was Senne’s to make.

“Ultimately, it was Senne who had to make the decision,” he added. “United gave him the best feeling. Partly because Tony Coton, United’s goalkeeping scout, had been following him for almost a year and was very convinced of his qualities.

“It would also be great if the club could return to its former glory and if Senne could contribute to that.”

When will Lammens make his Man United debut?

Many expected Lammens to be United’s No 1 goalkeeper this season, especially after Andre Onana completed a loan move to Trabzonspor last week.

But manager Ruben Amorim left him on the bench for Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad, where Altay Bayindir started in the 3-0 defeat to City.

That decision raised eyebrows among fans and pundits, including Wayne Rooney, who said: “That (benching Lammens) was a worry as well. You don’t know if that was a panic buy. If you’re buying a new goalkeeper and he’s not ready to come in, that’s a bit of a concern.”

In previous years, Lammens might have been blooded in a European group match or a domestic cup tie. But United failed to qualify for Europe and have already been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby.

That leaves United with only Premier League fixtures until January, though insiders at Old Trafford still expect Lammens to be handed his debut in the coming weeks.

It could come as early as Saturday, when United host Chelsea at Old Trafford in what already looks like a huge test for Amorim’s struggling side.