Manchester United
Lammens vs Onana: What the numbers reveal about Manchester United’s goalkeeper dilemma
Lammens arrives at United as a promising shot-stopper; statistics contrast sharply with Onana. eval.
Manchester United enter the 2025/26 season with renewed questions at goalkeeper following two inconsistent years under André Onana. Onana’s start at Old Trafford was shaky but he improved during his debut season, finishing with nine clean sheets, a total he matched last season. He finished 2023–24 with the fifth most goals prevented in the Premier League (2.7), per FBRef. Yet his form has oscillated; last season he ranked 18th in the Premier League with just 1.0 goals prevented and his save percentage fell from 74.9% to 68.9%.
The club are set to add 23-year-old Belgian Senne Lammens. Few knew him well before the United links, and some see the transfer as a punt. Lammens, however, produced an excellent 2024–25 campaign for Royal Antwerp as they finished fifth in the Belgian Pro League. He ended that season with an 81.4% save percentage and 14.5 goals prevented. No goalkeeper made more saves than Lammens in Belgium last season, and he has been earmarked as Thibaut Courtois’s successor in the national team.
On pure shot-stopping Lammens stands out. At 6’4 he is described as an imposing presence and, according to the available data, he ranked in the 99th percentile of all goalkeepers competing outside Europe’s top five leagues by stopping 13.2% of crosses into the penalty area over the past year. Onana has stopped barely over 5% of crosses and since 2018–19 has never stopped more than 9.3% in a single season.
With the ball at his feet Onana remains the more natural distributor, despite not yet reproducing his Ajax and Milan bests at United. Lammens bettered Onana’s pass completion by 3.6% last season but averaged 2.4 fewer attempts per 90 minutes. Bart Tamsyn (via Transfermarkt.com) says the 23-year-old, “is comfortable with both his right and left foot,” but suggested that playing out from the back is an area which could be improved.
Career tallies underline experience differences: Senne Lammens 103 matches, 153 goals conceded, 19 clean sheets, Belgian Super Cup x2; André Onana 401 matches, 449 goals conceded, 134 clean sheets.
Manchester United
Onana Moves to Trabzonspor on Season-Long Loan as United Issue Parting Message
André Onana joins Trabzonspor on a season-long loan from Manchester United ahead of Sept 12 deadline
André Onana has joined Trabzonspor on a season-long loan for the 2025–26 campaign, temporarily leaving Manchester United for a fresh start in Türkiye. According to The Athletic, the deal does not include a fee or option to buy.
The transfer was completed ahead of the Turkish transfer window closing on Friday, Sept. 12. Manchester United released a brief farewell: “We would like to wish Andre good luck.”
Onana’s time at Old Trafford had been difficult in 2024–25, a season affected by errors between the posts. Former Red Devil Nemanja Matić even labelled the 29-year-old “one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s history” back in April. Ruben Amorim overlooked Onana in Manchester United’s opening three matches in the Premier League this season, instead opting to start Altay Bayındır. The Cameroon international only got the nod in the Red Devils’ shocking defeat to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
Across his spell with Manchester United the goalkeeper made 102 appearances. He arrived from Inter in July 2023 for an initial €51 million (£43.9 million, $57.4 million) and played a part in United’s 2–1 victory over Manchester City in the 2024 FA Cup final.
Although his contract with Manchester United runs until 2028, Onana will spend at least this season hunting for silverware in the Süper Lig. Trabzonspor framed the move positively on social media: “A new adventure, a new challenge,” Trabzonspor wrote on X . “Welcome to the world’s greatest city team, André Onana!”
The loan gives Onana an opportunity to reset his career with regular minutes in Turkey while Manchester United move forward without the Cameroon international for the 2025–26 season.
International
Ferdinand Urges Patience as Šeško Adapts After £74m Move
Ferdinand calls for patience as Šeško adjusts after £74m move; international blanks dent confidence.
Manchester United’s summer signing Benjamin Šeško has been the subject of early scrutiny after his £74 million ($100.2 million) move from RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old has arrived in England at a time when several other high-profile forwards have hit the ground running, with Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitiké, Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres and Chelsea’s João Pedro all making goalscoring starts elsewhere in the Premier League.
That context has intensified expectation around Šeško, but former United defender Rio Ferdinand has urged restraint. “He needs to get up to speed with the Premier League and that’s going to take at least a month before he can even start thinking he’s in a good enough position to put his best foot forward,” Ferdinand told the Daily Mail. “Listen, he’s a young kid. He’s got huge potential, that’s not in doubt. But potential and proving it are two different things. It wouldn’t be right to say whether he can do it or not, time will be the biggest teller of all.”
Ferdinand’s comments underline a common view among former players and pundits that adaptation to the Premier League can take time, especially for a young striker joining a club under significant pressure to deliver immediate returns.
That pressure has been compounded by criticism from another ex-United forward. Louis Saha has predicted Šeško will struggle in his debut season with the Red Devils, pointing to Manchester United’s lack of midfield signings over the summer as a factor that could hinder his integration and goalscoring chances.
Šeško’s confidence may also have been affected by his recent international outings. During the September break the striker failed to score as Slovenia drew with Sweden and suffered defeat to Switzerland in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying. For now, both club and player will be hoping that a single goal at Old Trafford or in the league can alter the narrative and accelerate his settling-in period.
Manchester United
Mazraoui accepts responsibility after Ten Hag exit
Noussair Mazraoui says he “feels responsible” for Erik ten Hag’s sacking after poor United form. Yet
Noussair Mazraoui has publicly acknowledged a sense of responsibility for Erik ten Hag’s dismissal after a difficult spell at Manchester United. The defender said he “feels responsible” for Erik ten Hag’s dismissal last season after failing to “perform.”
Ten Hag was the manager who gave Mazraoui his senior debut in 2018. That debut was the first of 137 appearances the player made for the Amsterdam outfit before leaving in the same 2022 summer as Ten Hag. After two injury-riddled seasons at Bayern, Mazraoui was reunited with his former coach at Old Trafford.
During a candid interview with The National, Mazraoui admitted that it was “difficult” for him after Ten Hag left. “He was also a reason I came to the club,” the 27-year-old sighed. “You come to a club because for the club itself, but also for the manager.”
Mazraoui was frank about the emotional side of the situation and the link he draws between player performance and managerial security. “I worked some good years with him at Ajax, so that’s also one of the reasons I came here. And then if he’s gone after two or three months, that’s never nice, because you feel also responsible for that. Because if the players perform, the manager stays, it’s that simple.”
On the field, Mazraoui made 13 appearances for United under Ten Hag and the team recorded just four wins in that period. One of those victories came in the Carabao Cup against third-tier Barnsley. The decisive result that preceded Ten Hag’s exit arrived in a Premier League fixture against West Ham United. After a strong start the team fell behind in the 74th minute, Casemiro hauled the visitors level and Matthijs de Ligt then conceded a stoppage-time penalty. The Premier League later admitted it was a refereeing error to award the spot kick, which Jarrod Bowen converted, a goal that ultimately sealed Ten Hag’s fate.
