Paul Scholes believes the “jury is still out” on Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens, despite the Belgian’s impressive debut season at Old Trafford and endorsement from Sir Alex Ferguson.
The goalkeeper position had been a problem area for the Red Devils since David de Gea’s decline became apparent towards the end of his lengthy tenure as United’s No. 1. The club signed the Spaniard’s successor, André Onana, in 2023 after the Cameroonian helped Inter Milan reach the Champions League final, but he failed to provide the necessary stability across two years as starter.
Onana is now in his second season on loan at Trabzonspor and is unlikely to ever play for the Red Devils again.
They signed the relatively unknown Lammens from Royal Antwerp at the end of the 2025 summer transfer window for a modest $24.5 million. Lammens quickly became United’s No. 1, and he saw out his debut campaign without any doubts emerging about his status.
It seemed as if Manchester United had finally achieved serenity between the posts, but legend Scholes has now asked the question whether Lammens is a goalkeeper who could inspire the Red Devils to the Premier League title.
Paul Scholes Still Isn’t Fully Convinced by Senne Lammens
Lammens is intent on “leaving a legacy” at the Theatre of Dreams. He name-checked Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar as United goalkeepers he’d love to one day be considered alongside, but for the Belgian to be held in such high regard, United would need to start getting their hands on soccer’s most lucrative honors again.
They’ve been without a Premier League title since 2013 and have struggled for Champions League relevance since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona blew them away in the 2011 final.
Lammens’s career with the Red Devils has so far been promising, yet Scholes remains unconvinced.
“What team have you seen win the Premier League without a top-class goalkeeper?" Scholes rhetorically asked co-host Nicky Butt on their The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.
“Lammens might be that; I don’t know; I think the jury’s probably still out on that,” he added.
The 51-year-old at least doubts whether Lammens is the goalkeeper to help return United to the promised land, contrasting with the opinion of his former manager, Ferguson, who was taken aback by the Belgian’s performances at the start of his Old Trafford career.
“The goalkeeper has been outstanding. He’s only played three or four games and he’s looking really good,” the Scot said last November.
How Lammens Compares to Other Premier League Goalkeepers
Scholes listed Liverpool’s Alisson and Arsenal’s David Raya as the elite shot-stoppers who have elevated their respective teams to Premier League titles in recent years.
Statistically, though, the pair were arguably outperformed by Lammens last season. The Belgian conceded more than both, but according to FotMob, he ’prevented’ more goals than them. In fact, only Gianluigi Donnarumma for Manchester City was more proficient as a shot-stopper, as he prevented 5.8 goals compared to Lammens’ 4.4.
Lammens’s save percentage of 66.9% ranked 14th in the Premier League, and 10 recorded more clean sheets than the former Antwerp star’s eight (8).
His save percentage has dropped to 58.8% at the start of the 2026–27 campaign, and he’s actually underperformed as a shot-stopper. He’s prevented -0.5 goals through four matches, suggesting the Belgian has actually conceded more goals than expected.
While it‘s fair to argue that Lammens isn’t yet in the bracket of goalkeeping elites, he certainly doesn’t rank among Man Utd‘s primary concerns in the wake of a deflating defeat in the Manchester derby.
