Senne Lemmens is on the verge of joining Manchester United and he is expected to fix a lot of goalkeeping issues at Old Trafford. But is he really the solution to United’s problems? We take a look at the quality of Senne Lemmens and what he brings to this bolstered United side under Ruben Amorim.
Lemmens is 23 years old and he is joining United from Royal Antwerp who finished 5th in the league phase of the Jupiler Pro League. In 40 league appearances, Lemmens conceded 52 goals which puts him at a game to goals ratio of 1:3 per game. So United fans can tick shot-stopper out of their checklist for Onana’s and Bayindir’s replacement.
One of thing United fans would be grateful to know is that Senne Lemmens has the ability to cover his near post something that has cost United when Onana is in goal. With almost every shot he faces, Lemmens seems to have a sixth sense for knowing when the attacker is going to go for the near post and he does cover it well. Clips from Royal Antwerp games show that Lemmens even works well with rebounds which is one of the areas where Onana falls short.
United fans would have seen and appreciated Bayindir for his penalty saving ability and Lemmens brings that ability to a whole new level. The goalkeeper is quick to react before the penalty taker shoots and being very attentive on the ball often guesses right. However, while Lemmens may be good at penalties, he seems to favor his right side and dives quickly which is something that opposition players can easily pick up. Bayindir on the other hand is a better penalty saver in the ranks of United goalkeepers.
Lemmens poses serious threats during 1v1 situations. With United fancying the idea of squeezing players up front, they can get hit on the counter and Lemmens brings so much quality to be able to ward off attacks when the defense gets caught out. He is able to make himself big enough for the player and no matter the technique used to get past him, Lemmens’ craftiness can be seen on display a lot of times.
Positional awareness is another aspect of Lemmens game that gives him an advantage over Onana and Bayindir. United fans can recall how it seems like Onana is slow to dive – that is not what Lemmens is. He is often considered a “catch” wrestler with the way he pounces on the balls, dives at the nick of time, and parries balls safely.
Lemmens is not called Baby Courtois for naming sakes. He embodies what we have seen Thibaut Courtois do over the years and for United fans, who still feel De Gea shouldn’t have been forced to leave, they have Lemmens now who makes saves with both his hands and feets and commands superfast reflexes.
He is clearly an upgrade for the United team and we can only hope he succeeds.
