“You need to have…”: Ex-United star tells Lammens secret to immediate success at club despite “heavy” shirt

Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has revealed key step that new signing Senne Lammens must take to make a fast start at the club.

United sign Lammens

Despite links to goalkeepers during the summer transfer window, United consistently maintained that they were not actively looking to make a change between the sticks, unless either or both of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir left.

However, once the 2025/26 season kicked off, it became clear that United could no longer paper over the cracks, with Onana and Bayindir both enduring difficult starts.

Bayindir was at fault for Arsenal’s sole goal in the 1-0 opening defeat, while he also didn’t cover himself in glory for Burnley’s second strike, despite United winning 3-2.

Onana lost his starting berth to Bayindir and when offered a shot at redemption versus Grimsby, he fell short in disastrous fashion. The Cameroonian was culpable for the two goals Grimsby scored in the first half and also saved just one of 13 penalty kicks in the shootout as United were dumped out of the EFL Cup in the second round.

United confirmed the signing of Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day.

During the final stretch of the window, United targeted both Lammens and Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez, but Lammens was consistently viewed as the main objective.

With Onana now on the brink of completing a loan exit to Turkish side Trabzonspor, Lammens has a clear path to becoming United’s number one goalkeeper.

As he eyes the role, Jones has told the Belgian how he can make an instant impact at Old Trafford.

Jones sends message to Lammens

Jones said [as quoted by BBC], “To be the number one at United you need to have rhino skin.”

“The Manchester United shirt is a heavy one to wear. What is absolutely paramount is that the goalkeeper is calm and can deal with certain situations.”

“He needs to be commanding and not be flapping at crosses.”

The former England international added, “If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it becomes infectious very quickly and spreads through the defensive unit.”

“If a goalkeeper made a mistake, it was almost like you couldn’t get it out of your system until the next game.”

Lammens may make his United bow on Sunday, 14 September, when the Red Devils take on Manchester City at the Etihad.

Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images

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