Lammens skips days off for extra training as United figures see improvement despite Keane criticism

Senne Lammens is putting in extra hours at Manchester United’s Carrington training base as he attempts to reverse a difficult start to the 2024-25 Premier League season, with sources at the club telling the Mail they are already seeing signs of progress.

The Belgian goalkeeper was one of United’s standout performers last season, widely credited with bringing stability to a position that had long troubled the club. But his form has dipped sharply this campaign, hitting a new low in Sunday’s home defeat to Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The ball passed through his legs as Alyssson put Villa ahead inside the opening minute, and he then parried a shot directly into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who made it 2-0 before four minutes had elapsed.

According to the Mail, Lammens has responded by forgoing scheduled days off and is regularly the first player to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. Club figures are said to believe specific areas of his game have genuinely improved since his debut season, though the results have yet to fully reflect that.

Context does not entirely work in his favour. United have conceded 19 goals in their opening 10 league games — only Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace have let in more — and Lammens has faced a joint-high 52 shots in the Premier League, a figure that speaks to the defensive instability in front of him. He has made the fourth-most saves in the division, suggesting he is being asked to do a great deal.

Roy Keane, however, was unsparing in his assessment after Sunday’s result. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former United captain said: “When they were on a good run of results last year, the goalkeeper was doing very well, making a lot of big saves — he’s not doing that. Bruno [Fernandes] was on fire, he’s not at his very best at the moment. The goalkeeper has to do better. It doesn’t help if your goalkeeper isn’t making saves, that hurts the team a lot. To be in the bottom three, playing for Man United — this should be hurting them.”

Lammens also carries the weight of a high-profile international error, having been beaten in a manner that contributed to Belgium’s elimination by Spain at the World Cup, which has only intensified scrutiny on him at club level. His willingness to put in the extra work, at least, appears beyond question.