Former Premier League winger Micky Gray has urged Manchester United to sign a more experienced goalkeeper to replace Senne Lammens, despite the Belgian's impressive first season at Old Trafford. Lammens completed an £18.1m move from Royal Antwerp on transfer deadline day last summer, quickly displacing Altay Bayindir to become first choice under Ruben Amorim and his successor Michael Carrick.
Lammens' debut season stats
The 24-year-old kept eight clean sheets in 32 Premier League appearances last season, with former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves labelling him the club's 'signing of the season'. However, Gray remains unconvinced heading into the new campaign.
'I'd still personally look at an experienced, quality goalkeeper,' Gray told talkSPORT. 'And people might go, "well, they've got Lamens", who came in and did brilliantly. He's a young goalkeeper, and I know it worked eventually with David de Gea, who eventually became a sensation at Man United. He was a brilliant goalkeeper, one of the best they've ever had. But do you give Lamens the time? Do you give him Champions League football? Do you give him Premier League football as well, two games a week? It's a big ask.'
United's summer signings
United have already signed Karl Darlow on a free transfer from Leeds United to serve as back-up to Lammens, who is yet to report for pre-season training after his World Cup stint with Belgium. Lammens played second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois throughout the tournament, but his only appearance ended in disappointment when he spilt an effort into the path of Mikel Merino, who scored to give Spain a 2-1 victory in the quarter-final.
Tom Heaton backed his United teammate to bounce back: 'It was obviously a challenging moment for him, but that's the life of a goalkeeper. As soon as you put the gloves on and go between the sticks, you have to be ready to deal with that. It is tough, but Senne is very strong mentally. I saw that from him as a young goalkeeper coming into Manchester United and dealing with it unbelievably well.'
Midfield reinforcements
Alongside Darlow, United have signed Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Aston Villa. Gray was particularly impressed by Tielemans: 'It's obviously early in the transfer window, but I think Youri Tielemans is the signing of the summer. For the price that they've gotten for the experience that he brings. I'm not saying he's the exact same replacement for what Casemiro brought to Manchester United. I thought Casemiro, in the last six months of his Man United career, was absolutely brilliant, and the importance of some of the goals that he brought to Man United were key. But I think Tielemans can certainly bring that. I think he will help with the experience of walking in the dressing room. He's got that in abundance. I think he'll help players like Kobbie Mainoo and what he brings to Manchester United certainly improves them. I personally think he does.'
Gray concluded: 'There's still quite a lot to be done at Manchester United, but I do expect them to be challenging, certainly for the top four again.'
