Rene Meulensteen says Man Utd should have signed Spain’s World Cup hero

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen says the club should have made a move for Athletic Bilbao and Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon in the summer transfer window.

The Red Devils replaced the error-prone Andre Onana by signing Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth in the region of £18million last summer.

The 24-year-old would go on to enjoy a promising debut season at Old Trafford, winning United fans over with a series of impressive performances across his opening 33 appearances.

However, it has proven a tricky start to the new campaign for Lammens, with Michael Carrick’s side picking up just four points from their first three matches in the Premier League and conceding six goals in the process.

At the weekend, Lammens was met with criticism after Tyrique George beat the Belgian at his near post as Everton cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Lammens could do nothing about the Toffees’ second equaliser, though, with substitute Ainsley Maitland-Niles curling home a superb strike from 25 yards to make it 2-2 at the death.

‘Don’t get me wrong, he had a really good season, he made some remarkable saves and he helped United a lot,’ Meulensteen said of Lammens on the latest edition of the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, in partnership with BOYLE Sports.

‘Would I name him in the same breath as Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, David de Gea? No. Can he get there? Not sure.

‘I doubt it because I always do my due diligence on things and one of the things I felt with him, he’s still young, but obviously what happened with him at the World Cup is something I identified in him.

‘I think really critical people will probably look at him with the first goal against Everton, near post.

‘For me, if you talk about strengthening, you talk about the two most important people on the pitch: the goalkeeper and the striker. If one can sort goals out and the other can make sure he keeps clean sheets, you’ve got a good chance of winning.’

Having paid close attention to Simon’s performances for Spain at the World Cup, Meulensteen believes United may have missed a trick not trying to sign the shot-stopper from Athletic Bilbao.

‘I thought it would have been a really good bet to get him, I would have gone for Unai Simon from Athletic Bilbao,’ he added.

‘He was so impressive, for me, and we played him in a friendly with Iraq and he was so impressive throughout that whole World Cup campaign of Spain.

‘He was so on the front foot, reading the game well, managing that backlineand he made every save when he was called upon.

‘What you then get is a World Cup winner with a presence and I don’t think Lammens has got that yet.

‘If he can get there then it has to be on the basis of really good performances and consistency.’

United spent in excess of £150m on new recruits this summer after bringing in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba to strengthen Carrick’s options in midfield.

But Meulensteen still has serious concerns about United’s squad and feels his former club may be forced to return to the transfer market for reinforcements in defence before too long.

‘Last year was very much focussed on the front end of the pitch, bringing Bryan Mbuemo in, bringing Matheus Cunha in,’ the Dutchman – Sir Alex Ferguson’s long-time confidante – explained.

‘This time it looks like they’re really focussing on the midfield with Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba.

‘Maybe the next transfer window is probably the backline.

‘Have they done enough? I think United should compete for the Premier League because of the size of the club and the history that they carry.

‘Will they be good enough to compete through the quarter-finals, the semi-finals of the Champions League with this [squad]? I doubt it.’

United will look to get back to winning ways when they kick off their Champions League group-stage campaign at home to Azerbaijani minnow Sabah on Thursday night.

Just three days later, Carrick’s men switch their attentions back to Premier League matters for what promises to be an intriguing Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

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