Details emerge after Aston Villa outbid Man United for Senne Lammens and agreed fee
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Credit: Imago, Hasan Karim - Breaking Media
Oliver Walton
Tue 2 September 2025 19:48, UK
Aston Villa were snubbed by Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens despite offering a bigger transfer fee than that of Man United’s to try and secure his services.
Aston Villa and Man United were each embroiled in a late scramble for signings on deadline day (Monday, 1 September) after the latter were previously believed to be eyeing a move for Villans stopper Emi Martinez.
Man United eyed a move for Martinez throughout the summer window amid uncertainty over Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, but moved on to other options ahead of the deadline despite the Argentine’s desire to move to Old Trafford.
Man United agreed a deal to sign Senne Lammens from Antwerp last week, and they accelerated a move for the 23-year-old on deadline day to provide competition to Onana and Bayindir.
Journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported on Monday that Villa had also agreed terms with Antwerp over a deal for Lammens, but he instead chose to join United, and more details about his snub of Unai Emery’s side have now been revealed.
Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media
Lammens joined United from Antwerp on Monday (1 September) for an initial fee of £18.2million [Sky Sports], and signed a five-year deal while admitting upon his arrival that joining the club was his “dream move.” [Man United]
According to a new report from the Daily Mail (2 September), Villa had actually agreed a fee with Antwerp for Lammens that was higher than United’s offer, of £18.2m plus £3.5m in add-ons, but the 23-year-old goalkeeper wanted to join the Old Trafford side and so their lower bid was successful.
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Onana joined the club for £43.8million [Sky Sports] from Inter Milan back in 2023, but numerous high-profile mistakes over the last two years have seen his stock fall under both Erik ten Hag and Amorim.
Former Red Devils chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider in April that Man United were preparing to accept offers for Onana this summer amid interest from the Saudi Pro League, but even though he has not left, they had to get a new keeper in before the deadline.
PlayerAppearancesGoals concededClean sheetsAndre Onana10114824Altay Bayindir11203Onana vs Bayindir – Man United career stats
Turkish international Bayindir has been his back-up since his own arrival in 2023, but has never been able to grasp the opportunities handed to him to become number one, with just three clean sheets and 18 goals conceded in 10 appearances last term.
They have each struggled at the start of this season in their respective outings, but whether Lammens will be able to join and become the confident, ready-made number one that the club clearly need is unclear.
At just 23-years-old he is clearly highly-rated and has good potential, but has never played at a higher standard than the Belgian Pro League, nor played on the senior international stage, yet there will now be a lot of pressure on his shoulders to instantly improve the Red Devils this season.