Manchester United reportedly blocked Ruben Amorim from signing a Premier League star before recruiting a different player for £18m.
The Red Devils spent over £232m in the summer on Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.
Lammens arrived from Royal Antwerp and the goalkeeper has enjoyed a great start at Old Trafford after replacing Andre Onana as the No.1 choice.
The 23-year-old played important roles in United’s wins against Sunderland, Liverpool, and Brighton, while he also made some crucial saves in the draws with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
Lammens has quickly become a fan-favourite with some United supporters comparing him to Red Devils legend Peter Schmeichel.
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But United could have missed out on Lammens if the club didn’t stop Amorim’s attempts to sign Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa.
Amorim would’ve ‘likely’ pushed for Martinez over Lammens if it wasn’t for goalkeeping scout Tony Coton and director of football Jason Wilcox.
According to The Telegraph, United scout Coton had been banging the drum for Lammens ‘relentlessly’ to Wilcox for 12 months.
It is understood that Wilcox and the United recruitment team have been keen to prevent over-indulgence in transfers, which is another reason why the club ended up bringing in Lammens instead of Martinez.
Amorim: Lammens is doing really well
Speaking after United extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five games against Spurs on Saturday, Amorim was full of praise for Lammens.
‘He’s doing really well,’ Amorim told TNT Sports following the 2-2 draw in north London.
‘He’s very adult, and he understands that in a game, a lot of things can happen, but especially for a goalkeeper, you need to move on from anything that happened in the last minute.
‘So it’s like a new game every time the ball is on the pitch. I think [despite being] 23 years old, he understands that quite well.’
Man Utd make decision over January window
Meanwhile, United are not expected to bring in any players in the January transfer window as things currently stand, according to reports.
It’s no secret that the Red Devils are keen to recruit a new midfielder but it’s thought that United will wait until the end of the current season.
The three midfielders United are looking at are Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.