Rio Ferdinand questions Man Utd transfer move for £20m star

Rio Ferdinand has questioned Manchester United’s transfer move for Senne Lammens, suggesting the club may require a more established goalkeeper who can ‘steady the ship’ this summer.

United’s goalkeeping situation has once again come under the spotlight across what has been a disappointing start to the Premier League campaign.

The Red Devils have picked up just one point from a possible six in their two opening matches against Arsenal and Fulham and Ruben Amorim’s side are yet to keep a clean sheet.

Despite a string of unconvincing performances last season, Altay Bayindir has been given the nod for both games and it has proven a challenging experience, with the Turkey international, at times, looking out of his depth.

Bayindir has appeared especially vulnerable when dealing with set-pieces and there have been some calls for Andre Onana to return to Amorim’s starting XI against Burnley this weekend.

Meanwhile, United have been working to get a deal over the line for £20million-rated Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Lammens, who has reportedly agreed personal terms over a move to Old Trafford.

‘United have entered negotiations for Senne Lammens, who is a young 23-year-old ‘keeper from Antwerp, but he’s not experienced,’ Ferdinand said on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel of the rumours surrounding the Belgian shot-stopper.

‘Is this more about squad depth and not someone who is going to come in and play immediately?

‘Do Manchester United need to go and get someone who can steady the ship in that position or are they trusting who they’ve got, Bayindir and Onana, to fight it out for the number one?

‘Onana is going to be heading off to AFCON in the winter which is going to make it difficult again.

‘I don’t know, man. It’s going to have to be sorted out in the future because at the moment, there’s uncertainty in the backline. As a defender, I know that uncertainty behind me creates panic and if you’re going to be successful and consistent, you can’t have that.’

While Ferdinand believes Bayindir has the ‘potential’ to become a top ‘keeper, he feels there have been signs of nervousness in the Turk’s two opening displays this season.

He added: ‘It’s been shaky, let’s not beat around the bush. Onana hasn’t found consistency yet and his replacement [Bayindir] looks shaky from set-pieces.

‘I think Bayindir has got potential but at the moment he looks quite nervous, especially when the ball is put in under that crossbar.

‘And at the weekend, there was a mistake for a goal. At set-pieces, we look vulnerable.’

Ferdinand has sympathy for Bayindir and Onana given history has proven that the role of United’s number one is ‘not an easy position to fill’.

‘I came to the club when Fabien Barthez was there. But before that, Peter Schmeichel was there,’ the six-time Premier League winner added.

‘Barthez was a World Cup winner and still didn’t look comfortable so it’s a hard role.

‘After that, we had Tim Howard, Roy Carroll, Tomasz Kuszczak, Ricardo, until we found Edwin [van der Sar].

‘Edwin was hugely experienced, won a load of stuff, and then he came in and was wonderful, one of the best goalkeepers that Manchester United have ever had. But it shows you that it’s not an easy position to fill.’

Amorim has been reluctant to single Bayindir out for criticism and instead said United’s team as a whole needed to ‘grow up’ following the side’s 1-1 draw at Fulham.

‘We have to grow up a lot as a team,’ the Portuguese told reporters at his post-match press conference.

‘For me, the most important thing is that during the week they were working really hard.

‘Today, we worked really hard, and we are going to improve. The moment that changed the game was our goal.’

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